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Marlon Brown and Aaron Mellette were in the middle of a lift when John Harbaugh walked up to them.
It was Friday, Aug. 30, and Brown and Mellette were wondering if they had done enough to make the roster. After all, there were eight receivers vying for what appears to be six spots in the position group.
When Harbaugh walked up to them, it could have been about anything.
But rather than force the two rookies to wait around, Harbaugh delivered the good news.
"He came up and shook my hand and said congratulations, you've worked hard and you can be a difference here," Brown said.
Said Mellette: "I didn't get too excited because I had to get back to my lift. But I was pretty happy. Got home, told the folks and they were excited, obviously. It was great knowing I made the 53-man roster, knowing people said it was a long shot."
Mellette, considered to be as a high as a fifth-rounder, was drafted in the seventh round out of Elon this past April. Brown, who tore his ACL last November, went undrafted out of Georgia. Both rookies entered training camp with something to prove, given the amount of teams that passed them over.
Now that they made the roster, it's apparent to them that draft position or status wasn't much of a factor in choosing them to be a part of the 2013 Ravens.
"It shows that the Ravens give the guys a shot," Mellette said. "It doesn't matter what round you're drafted in. If you can go out there and perform, have a good camp and do well in the preseason games, they're going to give you a shot."
Brown and Mellette join Torrey Smith, Jacoby Jones, Brandon Stokley and Deonte Thompson in the position group, which seems wide open for playing time. Smith is a sure-fire No. 1 receiver, but the other five could rotate in quite a bit.
Brown finished the preseason with 10 receptions for 169 yards and two touchdowns. Mellette ended the exhibition part of the schedule with nine catches for 140 yards and two scores.
It would be quite the story if both receivers, afterthoughts for a lot of clubs, wound up contributing a great deal for the defending Super Bowl champs.
"I have a mindset where I wanted to make the team and also make a difference on the team," Brown said.
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