When the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft was completed, the Baltimore Ravens had not made a selection but were still thrilled with the results. Originally slated to have the 29th pick of the first round, they saw a bunch of head-scratching moves and a plethora of trades that lead to players many thought would definitely be taken in the first round, remain on the board still available .
Obviously, there appears to be more than one, if not three or four players on the Ravens draft board, who were not selected in the first 32 picks so far. The trade with the Minnesota Vikings netted Baltimore the third pick of round two and the third pick of the fourth round as well. That means the Ravens traded the 29th overall pick for the 35th and 98th picks.
There appears to be little doubt that Ravens GM Ozzie Newsome is ecstatic knowing he will now be able to pick at guy in the early second round that he might have taken in the late first round had a trade not be an option. The result will be that the team will still get the guy they coveted, but for a significantly less price and for four years instead of the typical first round draft pick's five year deals. In addition, they will get an early fourth round pick, that will replace the non-pick they had but traded last year to the Buffalo Bills for WR Lee Evans.
A great move for the 'Wizard of Oz' and now the focus re-shifts to early Friday evening.
The NFL Draft returns to primetime in 2012. Catch all of the excitement of the 2012 NFL Draft on NFL Network April 26 - 28