Part of the reason, if not the specific reason that the Baltimore Ravens dropped back to the early part of round 2 of the 2012 NFL Draft is that there were so many surprises in who the teams ahead of them selected, that so many guys they had rated highly remained on the board when their turn came up. Figuring trading back only eight slots would mean that they would still get one of their highly rated players on their draft board while picking up an additional pick along the way.
Surprises in the first round started off with Alabama safety Mark Barron going number seven to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. While Barron was expected to go in the first round, no one had him getting picked that high. Perhaps the biggest surprise of the first round was when the Seattle Seahawks took West Virginia LB Bruce Irvin, whom most had pegged as a mid-second round selection, with the 15th pick of the first round.
At the bottom of the first round, the Vikings took over the Ravens 29th slot and took Notre Dame safety Harrison Smith, who was thought to be an early second round pick and then right behind them the San Francisco 49ers took Illinois WR A.J. Jenkins, who was perhaps as big a first round surprise as was Bruce Irvin.
These "changes" to what most expected to see unfold last night left a bunch of players most consider first-round talent on the board and with the third pick tonight, the Ravens will have a chance to get one of the guys they rated in the top 20 of the draft, save a few bucks plus get a bonus pick early in round four.