Gayle Saunders
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After playing 5 years with the Texans, Jacoby Jones is welcoming change in 2012. Jones sounds like man whose dealt with change in his football career before.

“Change is good in life,” Jones I left one high school, went to another and I was successful. I left one college and went to Lane College and was successful. And now I’m leaving Houston and I will be successful.”

The odd thing with him signing with the Baltimore Ravens, it’s the last team he played against in the AFC divisional game during the playoffs. During that game in January, he muffed a punt return early in that game which lead to a Baltimore score.

As any professional would do, Jones has moved on, and he’s ready to put that game behind him with his new team. That new team now wants him to bring his talents to Baltimore in hopes he can elevate their return game and help their depth at wide receiver.

The Skinny: Last season he had 49 punt returns as well as a 79-yard touchdown for Houston. Currently the Ravens could use a return specialist now that they have Webb focusing on cornerback. David Reed is recovering from an injured ACL, so it’s the perfect match for Jones as he’s still a duel threat at WR and special teams. The Ravens WR corps still consists of Anquan Boldin, Torrey Smith, Tandon Doss, Laquan Williams and rookie Tommy Streeter. It’s a full house but Jones is versatile playmaker with good open field speed.

ROUND 2: Courtney Upshaw, OLB, Alabama

How he fits: Upshaw should challenge Paul Kruger for the starting strongside linebacker position vacated by Jarret Johnson, who signed with the San Diego Chargers. Kruger is a good pass rusher, but there are questions about him holding the edge against the run. If Upshaw can stop the run, he’ll start.

Upshaw is a ’tweener, the kind of player the Ravens like at outside linebacker. He is too small to be a defensive end in a 3-4 and too big to be an outside linebacker. Like Pro Bowl outside linebacker Terrell Suggs, Upshaw can put his hand in the dirt. Upshaw could start right away if he outplays Kruger in the preseason. Ravens wanted a pass rusher to complement Suggs on the other side, but now he’ll have to try and replace the 2012 defensive player of the year

ROUND 2: Kelechi Osemele, T, Iowa State

Osemele played left tackle, but he is projected early on as a guard for the Ravens. He will battle second year player Jah Reid for the starting left tackle position. Osemele has great size and can be physically dominating at times. He has a large wingspan. The downside is that his weight often balloons up during the offseason, and he is regarded as being too soft.

Reid and Osemele will battle for the starting job in training camp. Down the road, Osemele could be moved to right offensive tackle, allowing the Ravens to move present starter Michael Oher back to the left side. Osemele played left tackle at Iowa State, but isn’t athletic enough to play that position in the NFL.

Round 3: Bernard Pierce, RB, Temple

The Ravens wanted to get a big back, a player who could control tempo late in games. Pierce is that type of back, but he also has enough explosion to bounce outside and break long runs. Pierce won’t replace starter Ray Rice, but he will challenge Anthony Allen for the No. 2 position.

The No. 2 position became open once Ricky Williams announced his retirement shortly after the 2011 season. Allen has played well, but the Ravens aren’t sure he is the answer. They went out and got an insurance policy in Pierce.

ROUND 4: GINO GRADKOWSKI, G/C, Delaware

Gradkowski is a tough player with great leadership qualities. He is a vocal player toward whom teammates gravitate toward. Gradkowski could play center or guard, but will start out training camp as a backup center to longtime veteran Matt Birk.

ROUND 4: CHRISTIAN THOMPSON, S, South Carolina State

Thompson is very fluid in his hips when breaking on the ball as he easily turns and runs to generate excellent mirror on the receiver through the route’s progression. He is a hard hitter who is effective in zone coverage. Thompson could make the team as a fourth safety this season, but both starters, Ed Reed and Bernard Pollard, are in the final years of their contracts. If he plays well, he eventually could become a starter.

ROUND 5: ASA JACKSON, CB, Cal Poly

Jackson was one of the fastest athletes in the college game, and is known as a superb man coverage defender. He could become the Ravens’ punt- and kick-return specialists. With young outstanding cornerbacks on the roster like Jimmy Smith, Lardarius Webb and Cary Williams, it’s highly unlikely Jackson will see much time except on special teams.

ROUND 6: TOMMY STREETER, WR, Miami (Fla.)

Streeter appears to be more of a project than a possible instant starter. He has good size and runs a 4.4 40-yard dash. The Ravens were looking for an eventual bookend to second year receiver Torrey Smith and may have found him in Streeter. He could become a gunner on the punt team.

ROUND 7: DEANGELO TYSON, DE, Georgia

The Ravens wanted to come out of this draft with one or two defensive linemen, and they got one with their final pick. Tyson isn’t overpowering but might be able to get some playing time late in the season. Another project.

Gayle Saunders
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Sad news for Baltimore Ravens fans as 2011 defensive player of the year Terrell Suggs is out for the 2012 season as he tore his achilles’ tendon.

Suggs was coming off his best NFL season where he had career highs in sacks (14) and forced fumbles (7). He was a true beast in every sense of the word coming down the stretch of the season. Losing a player like Suggs will be hard to replace.

Unfortunately the injury happened while Suggs was playing basketball and not during activity on the football field. Suggs is scheduled to have surgery next week. It usually takes about 11 months for a player to come back from this kind of injury, the Ravens will keep Suggs on PUP list with hope he is able to return late in the season.

The Skinny: Ravens probably will be smart enough to not rush back Suggs from this injury. At age 30, he has to make sure he’s fully healed as this injury could effect the rest of his career. Ravens rookie Courtney Upshaw will have a great opportunity to show his worth early. The Ravens will also count on Paul Kruger, Pernell McPhee, and perhaps Sergio Kindle to help replace Suggs. This injury is a huge blow to Ravens Nation and especially their defense. Suggs easily has set the tone for the kind of defense that the Ravens like to play. Question now is, who will step up in his absence.

By Gayle Saunders
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League rules allow each team to bring in 30 players for predraft visits. No on-field work is allowed. The visits are simply an opportunity for the players to sit down with the coaches, as well as the personnel people, for any additional questions, football or otherwise.

Not every player accepts every invitation he receives, so teams don’t always get the first 30 players they requested. But coaches often will look at video with players to get a sense of their football awareness, or put them to work, marker in hand, on the dry-erase board to see how they dissect certain game situations.

One important fact to note from last years draft is, 21 of the NFL’s 32 1st round selections had confirmed pre-draft visits and/or workouts with the NFL teams they were selected by. So there is a good shot that he players below will get drafted if they’re on the board during the teams draft selection.

Below we’ll be updating the chart of pre-draft visits, if you have a player visit you’d like us to add to the chart leave a comment and I’ll add it. Thanks for your help in advance!

LAST UPDATED 4/19/12

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Baltimore Ravens

Brandon Brooks – G from Miami (Ohio)
Ron Brooks -CB from LSU
Zach Brown – LB from North Carolina
Gino Gradkowski -C/C from Delaware
Brandon Hardin- CB from Oregon State
Stephen Hill – WR – Georgia Tech
Buddy Jackson -CB from Pittsburgh
A.J. Jenkins -WR from Illinois
Cam Johnson -DE from Virginia
Mychal Kendricks -LB from California
Dre Kirkpatrick -CB from Alabama
Peter Konz – C from Wisconsin
Isaiah Pead -RB from Cincinnati
Josh Robinson -CB from Central Florida
Nelson Rosario -WR from UCLA
Phillip Thomas – S from Syracuse
Bobby Wagner -LB from Utah State
Kelcie McCray -Safety from Arkansas State
Bernard Pierce -RB from Temple
Dont’a Hightower- LB from Alabama
Rueben Randle – WR from LSU
Ben Jones – C from University of Georgia
David DeCastro – Guard from Stanford
____________________________________________________________________________________________

Team Needs and Draft: Ravens will have to bring their draft skills to the table and look for a quality replacement for Matt Birk… perhaps they look at Wisconsin center Peter Konz who could fill in nicely. The Guard position could also use some serious attention via the draft. All in all the whole line should be the should be a focus for a rebuild going forward.

With second round Sergio Kindle barely playing, linebackers is a spot that needs to be looked at. Ray Lewis is 37 and he isn’t getting any younger. You also have two starters who are free agents, which equals question marks at this particular unit.

2012 Draft Picks
1.29, 2.29, 3.29, 5.29, 6.29, 7.29

2011 Draft Results
1st: Jimmy Smith (CB) Colorado
2nd: Torrey Smith (WR) Maryland
3rd: Jah Reid (OT) C Florida
4th: Tandon Doss (WR) Indiana
5th: Chykie Brown (CB) Texas
5th: Pernell McPhee (DE) Miss St
6th: Tyrod Taylor (QB) Va Tech
7th: Anthony Allen (RB) Ga Tech

Inside the Helmet kicks off with our first edition which covers the Tight End position. Hall of Fame Tight End, Shannon Sharpe sits down with us to break down the position that he mastered for so many seasons in the NFL!

By Gayle Saunders
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Joe Flacco’s agent is looking to get top-five money for his client on his long-term extension with the Ravens.

I’m not sure that Flacco is worthy of that kind of money and Im quite sure that the Ravens could think twice before inking a deal. If Flacco’s agent wants to get a deal done sooner than later, he might want to back down from the initial stance.

His Agent Joe Linta makes a statement about Flacco’s NFL resume

“If the game is about wins and losses, he has to be in the top five,” said agent Joe Linta. “… And he’s done something that no one has ever done. In his four years in the league, he has never missed a game and has more wins than any other quarterback.”

Linta makes some points, but any NFL realist can see that his numbers don’t speak top-five.

By Gayle Saunders
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NBC Sports is reporting that sources close to the Ravens and Ray Rice have not made any progress towards a long-term deal.

Im not sure if that’s a guarantee that the Ravens will tag Ray Rice or not, but it’s a clue. On February 20th, the Ravens will only have a two-week countdown to franchise their playmaker. If Rice is tagged he’s expected to make around $7.7 million next season.

July 15th also marks the date to work out a long-term extension, so either way the Ravens front office has some work to do.