NEW YORK — The last time the Baltimore Ravens waited until the second round to make their first pick in the NFL Draft, they selected a linebacker from a big-name school with a reputation for harassing opposing quarterbacks.
General Manager Ozzie Newsome did it again Friday.
After trading away their first-round pick (29th overall) to the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday night, Newsome chose Alabama outside linebacker Courtney Upshaw with the 35th overall pick.
Four of Upshaw’s teammates - running back Trent Richardson (Cleveland), defensive backs Mark Barron (Tampa Bay) and Dre Kirkpatrick (Cincinnati), and linebacker Dont’a Hightower (New England) - were taken in the first round.
Two players with Arkansas connections - Arkansas State linebacker Demario Davis and Arkansas defensive end Jake Bequette - were taken in the third round. Davis was the 77th pick, going to the New York Jets, and Bequette went No. 90 to New England.
The Ravens are counting on Upshaw, 6-2, 272 pounds, to serve as a bookend to sackspecialist Terrell Suggs, the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year. Upshaw had 91/2 sacks last year for the BCS national champions, as well as 11 quarterback pressures and 2 forced fumbles.
Upshaw could fill the void left by the departure of outside linebacker Jarret Johnson, who signed as a free agent with San Diego. Johnson also went to Alabama, as did Newsome, who makes no secret about his fondness for players from his alma mater.
Two years ago, Newsome traded away his first-round selection and took Texas linebacker Sergio Kindle with the 43rd overall pick. Kindle fractured his skull before arriving at his first NFL training camp, missed his entire rookie season and was used sparingly last year.
The Ravens are seeking better results from Upshaw, who had seven sacks and 52tackles as a junior at Alabama and was even better as a senior.
Suggs led Baltimore with 14 sacks last year. Linebacker Paul Kruger finished second with a career-high 5 1/2 sacks, and the Ravens hope Upshaw can contribute even more pressure on opposing quarterbacks.
Earlier Friday, Coby Fleener heard his name, grabbed his phone and immediately contacted his new teammate in Indianapolis - an old teammate from Stanford.
The overnight wait paid off for the former Stanford tight end. He’s reuniting with his college quarterback, Andrew Luck.
Fleener wasn’t chosen in the first round, in which Luck was the top selection Thursday. He got a nice consolation prize Friday night when the Colts grabbed him with the second pick of the second round.
Among the other notable selections on the second day of the draft were Oregon running back LaMichael James by San Francisco and Wisconsin quarterback Russell Wilson by Seattle.
Chances are good Fleener will become a starter - and a main target - for Luck in Indianapolis.
“I just sent him a text message that had a lot of exclamation points in it,” said Fleener, who had 10 touchdown catches last season and 18 for his career in Stanford’s offense. “I expected to be on a team where I wasn’t familiar with the offense or the quarterback. I can’t wait to get started, to be honest with you.”
Indy not only parted with four-time MVP quarterback Peyton Manning this offseason, but also lost tight end Jacob Tamme to free agency and isn’t expected to bringback injury-ravaged veteran Dallas Clark.
“For me, getting to play with him the past couple of years, it is speed, he is dynamic,” Luck said. “Anytime we crossed the 50-yard line, it seemed like we just said, ‘Coby, go run. Go runpast the safeties.’ Hopefully it continues to work out.”
The St. Louis Rams actually used their own pick to begin the second round, selecting Appalachian State wide receiver Brian Quick. St. Louis traded down twice in the first round Thursday, accumulating several extra picks and also taking LSU defensive tackle Michael Brockers 14th overall. In the second-round spot they earned for going 2-14 in 2011, the Rams took a wideout from an FCS powerhouse. The 6-4 Quick had a strong Senior Bowl, showing he could play at the highest college level and helping his stock in the draft.
Janoris Jenkins, a cornerback at North Alabama who was kicked off the team at Florida, went to the Rams six picks after they took Quick. Jenkins, holding an infant in his arms, had tears in his eyes as he spoke by phone with the Rams.
“I just be honest,” Jenkins said about talking about his past transgressions. “I don’t have nothing to hide. Thatwas my past. That was a year ago. I took my second route to go to UNA for a reason, to show people I wasn’t a bad kid and I wasn’t running from my problems.”
Guard Amini Silatolu of Division II Midwestern State was the eighth overall selection in the second round by Carolina.
It took 11 picks before Friday’s first trade, with the Jets moving up four slots and surrendering fifth- and seventh-round picks to Seattle to take Georgia Tech wide receiver Stephen Hill. New York needs a deep threat wideout, and Hill was the fastest player at the NFL combine. But he also comes from a running offense.
“I feel great, especially now that I’m in an offense where I can catch the ball a little bit more,” Hill said. “Catching the ball from Mark Sanchez will be great.”
Hill pumped his arms to the fans in the balcony at Radio City Music Hall after having his name announced by Wesley Walker, one of the best deep receivers the team has had.
After New York and Seattle took the lead on trading Friday, the Rams - no surprise considering their earlier wheeling and dealing in Coach Jeff Fisher’s first draft in charge - pulled off another. The Bears swapped with St. Louis to move up five spots and get South Carolina receiver Alshon Jeffery.
A smaller flurry of trades occurred Friday, five involving nine teams in the second round and five more involving 10 teams in the third round. Not surprisingly, New England, Philadelphia, Tampa Bay, Baltimore and Cleveland wereinvolved in deals, just as they were in the first round.
Two All-America defensive linemen were chosen in the second round: Devon Still of Penn State by Cincinnati and Jerel Worthy of Michigan State by Green Bay. Also chosen, by Detroit, was Oklahoma standout receiver Ryan Broyles, who injured his left knee in November after setting some NCAA career records.
“We have the luxury of being able to rehab this guy very carefully and let him get healthy,” Lions General Manager Martin Mayhew said. “If the guy was healthy now, he would’ve been gone.”
Lions Coach Jim Schwartz said Broyles wouldn’t have to “redshirt” this season.
“I’m glad the Detroit Lions felt I was a guy that was capable of coming back from an injury,” Broyles said.
James, the nation’s leading rusher in 2010, went to San Francisco with the 61st pick. He joins a crowded backfield with Frank Gore and Brandon Jacobs.
The New York Giants finished the second round by selecting LSU receiver Rueben Randle, the last of 26 players invited to the draft to be chosen.
“I was just waiting. There was nothing else I could do,” Randle said.
Wilson, a standout at North Carolina State who transferred to Wisconsin and led the Badgers to the Rose Bowl, went to Seattle in the third round. Ohio State wide receiver DeVier Posey, who was suspended for five games in 2011 as part of the Buckeyes’ NCAA troubles, was taken by Houston. Punter Bryan Anger of California, the first kicker chosen this year, joined Jacksonville at No. 70 overall.
New Orleans and Oakland made their first picks in the third round. The Saints, stripped of their secondrounder as punishment for their bounty program - they traded their first-rounder last year - chose a defensive tackle from Canada, Akiem Hicks of Regina.
The Oakland Raiders finished the round with Utah guard Tony Bergstrom.
Sports, Pages 28 on 04/28/2012