Well it wasn’t pretty, but the Baltimore Ravens drafted Colorado cornerback Jimmy Smith in the first round on Thursday night. The Ravens let time expire when their original pick was scheduled, an error that left even the staff at ESPN scratching their heads.
Baltimore rebounded though and picked the big shutdown cornerback Jimmy Smith. As detailed Thursday on BSR, Smith comes with a bit of a track record. To summarize, he’s had three failed drug test, two underage drinking charges and an assault charge.
Smith told reporters on a conference call that he’s “looking to be the best player and person off the field” that he can be. “I’ve learned from my past mistakes. I’m more mature now. Everything happens for a reason,” Smith said according to Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post.
Ravens head coach John Harbaugh complimented Smith following the draft saying he’s rare, “he has special talents.” Harbaugh also addressed the off-the-field issues with Smith. “Jimmy’s been forthright with everything. He had a lot of situations. I think he’s a good person at heart,” Harbaugh said according to Wilson.
Director of Player Personnel Eric DeCosta told Wilson that drafting Smith was indeed a tough decision. “There were talented players, but Jimmy fit us from a need and talent perspective,” he said.
As it turned out, the Ravens passing at number 26 saved them money and turned out to be the fault of the Chicago Bears. The club’s official twitter page said that the team called in a trade with the NFL with two minutes and thirty seconds remaining, but that the Bears did not confirm the trade with the league.
