The marriage of Haloti Ngata and the Baltimore Ravens appears to be one made in National Football League draft heaven.
The Ravens traded their 13th and 101st overall picks to the Cleveland Browns to draft the University of Oregon defensive lineman with the 12th selection Saturday.
“I was hoping Baltimore,” Ngata said. “I really wanted to come to Baltimore, especially because they are a defensive team. I?m just really happy right now and excited.”
The Ravens said they had been watching Ngata for some time.
“Ngata was a player that (head of scouting) Eric (DeCosta) gave me some exposure to last fall,” Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome said. “I kind of got an affection for him at that point. It was interesting that when we interviewed him at the combine, he came across as a guy that was very well-spoken, but he?s a big man that can move.”
Other picks for the Ravens on Saturday were Chris Chester (second round, 56th overall, Oklahoma) and David Pittman (third round, 87th overall, Northwestern State). On Sunday, the Ravens took Demetrius Williams (Oregon, wide receiver) and P.J. Daniels (Georgia Tech, running back) in the fourth round.
Dawan Landry (safety, Georgia Tech) and Quinn Sypnieski (tight end, Colorado) were taken in the fifth round. Sam Koch (punter, Nebraska) and Derrick Martin (cornerback, Wyoming) were taken in the sixth round. Ryan LeCasse, a defensive end from Syracuse, went in the seventh round to the Ravens.
Ngata appears to be just what the Ravens need. The team lost Maake Kemoeatu in the off-season to the Carolina Panthers. The Ravens have played with smaller defensive tackles since their Super Bowl title run in January of 2001. Ngata, at six-feet-four, 340 pounds, will likely clog the middle.
Ngata?s addition should also go a long way to addressing the concerns of linebacker Ray Lewis, who has complained about the lack of size on the Ravens defensive line. Newsome said Lewis? thoughts were not taken into account.
“When we put our board together, it?s al based on information that we gain from out scouts and other people. If Ray had known Haloti, then yes, I would have used him. But, no, he had nothing to do with that,” Newsome said.
Newsome said Ngata can get better with experience.
“He?s still growing. We think he has a big-time upside,” Newsome said.
Ravens head coach Brian Billick said Ngata has unique intangibles.
“He was very knowledgeable about us, about our defense, the history of our defense, the people we had and there was an excitement on his part,” Billick said.
