BALTIMORE, April 26, 2013 - The Ravens used their first round pick (32nd overall) to begin to rebuild their defense after it was decimated by salary cap-forced defections. Having lost both starting safeties, the Ravens selected Florida's Matt Elam, a six-foot, 206-pound tackling fool who wowed Raven GM Ozzie Newsome and was said to be a consensus pick among the Ravens' brass. Raven coach John Harbaugh said Elam has a chance to team with free agent acquisition Michael Huff as the starting safeties for the defending NFL champions. Hopefully, Elam's career will mirror the departed Ed Reed in personal achievements but not team results. While Reed had become a consensus Hall-of-Famer during the years he played for the Ravens, he had never played in a Superbowl until the game the Ravens won this past February. Reed was drafted by the Ravens right after they won their previous Superbowl in 2001.
In the second round Baltimore selected inside linebacker Arthur Brown, a 6', 241 pounder from Kansas State. Like the safety position, the Ravens linebacking corps was also annihilated after the Superbowl. Ray Lewis retired, and Paul Kreuger and Jameel McClain signed with other teams. With Brown, the rebuilding there begins.
The defense was also addressed in the third round when Baltimore selected big Brandon Williams, a 336-pound defensive lineman from Missouri Southern State. Williams has been named to the small college All-American teams an astonishing three times.
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