Baltimore Ravens: C.J. Mosley – First Round Draft Selection
May 8, 2014; New York, NY, USA; C.J. Mosley (Alabama) stands for photos with his jersey after being selected as the number seventeen overall pick in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft to the Baltimore Ravens at Radio City Music Hall. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports
The Baltimore Ravens selected C.J. Mosley with the 17th overall pick in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft. Mosely is out of the University of Alabama and is an inside linebacker at 6’2” and 234 pounds.
Mosely’s name became more dominant in mock drafts and varied predictions over the final days leading up to the draft. Just days ago, Ozzie Newsome spoke in an interview of first looking for an inside linebacker when asked what he would be aiming for with this unusually high pick for the Ravens.
Mosely was the top tackler for Alabama in both his junior and senior years, with 107 and 108 tackles per season. He was a semifinalist for the Lombardi, Bednarik and Butkus awards this past year – winning the latter. Here is a video of that event with some highlights.
Though considered to be a slightly undersized linebacker, Mosely will be a great addition to the Baltimore Ravens, without doubt. I would have taken a safety, but we’ll see how this turns out and how the remaining seven draft selections fill needs … like safety.
Still on the board at the time of the Ravens’ selection were both top-rated safeties – Ha Ha Clinton-Dix of Alabama (taken by the Packers at #21) and Calvin Pryor of Louisville who was picked by the Jets in the selection immediately following the Ravens.
The biggest surprise in the selections ahead of the Baltimore Ravens was seeing the Cleveland Browns take cornerback Justin Gilbert with the 8th pick – passing up on Jonny Manziel, for which Ravens fans may be thankful. … OK … I wrote that last sentence before the Browns were able to come back at selection #22 to still get Manziel. This has to be a good day for Cleveland.
A smaller surprise was the Chicago Bears taking local Mount St. Joseph’s product Kyle Fuller (cornerback) out of Virginia Tech with pick #14.
Also picking up a great corner was the Bengals with Michigan product Darqueze Dennard.
And a favorite of mine – wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin of Florida State – was taken at #28 by Carolina. The Ravens have Steve Smith, so this is a move to meet a need there.
Here is the complete first round …
1 |
HoustonJadeveon Clowney
DE
South Carolina
6-5
266
2
St. LouisGreg Robinson
OT
Auburn
6-5
332
3
JacksonvilleBlake Bortles
QB
UCF
6-5
232
4
BuffaloSammy Watkins
WR
Clemson
6-1
211
5
OaklandKhalil Mack
OLB
Buffalo
6-3
251
6
AtlantaJake Matthews
OT
Texas A&M
6-6
308
7
Tampa BayMike Evans
WR
Texas A&M
6-5
231
8
ClevelandJustin Gilbert
CB
Oklahoma State
6-0
202
9
MinnesotaAnthony Barr
OLB
UCLA
6-5
255
10
DetroitEric Ebron
TE
North Carolina
6-4
250
11
TennesseeTaylor Lewan
OT
Michigan
6-7
309
12
NY GiantsOdell Beckham Jr.
WR
LSU
5-11
198
13
St. LouisAaron Donald
DT
Pittsburgh
6-1
285
14
ChicagoKyle Fuller
CB
Virginia Tech
6-0
190
15
PittsburghRyan Shazier
OLB
Ohio State
6-1
237
16
DallasZack Martin
OG
Notre Dame
6-4
308
17
BaltimoreC.J. Mosley
ILB
Alabama
6-2
234
18
NY JetsCalvin Pryor
FS
Louisville
5-11
207
19
MiamiJaWuan James
OT
Tennessee
6-6
311
20
New OrleansBrandin Cooks
WR
Oregon State
5-10
189
21
Green BayHasean Clinton-Dix
FS
Alabama
6-1
208
22
ClevelandJohnny Manziel
QB
Texas A&M
6-0
207
23
Kansas CityDee Ford
DE
Auburn
6-2
252
24
CincinnatiDarqueze Dennard
CB
Michigan State
5-11
199
25
San DiegoJason Verrett
CB
TCU
5-10
189
26
PhiladelphiaMarcus Smith
DE
Louisville
6-3
251
27
ArizonaDeone Bucannon
SS
Washington State
6-1
211
28
CarolinaKelvin Benjamin
WR
Florida State
6-5
240
29
New EnglandDominique Easley
DT
Florida
6-2
288
30
San FranciscoJimmie Ward
SS
Northern Illinois
5-11
193
31
DenverBradley Roby
CB
Ohio State
5-11
194
32
MinnesotaTeddy Bridgewater
QB
Louisville
6-2
214