Matt Elam

[OutsideRzAcE]

 

General Manager Ozzie Newsome has watched a lot of college tape in his day.

But when Newsome flipped on the tape of Florida’s Matt Elam, he was taken aback.

The strong safety flies around the field with high energy, delivering highlight-reel hits while still wrapping up on tackles. He plays like a Ravens defender.

“I’ve never been so excited, it was fun watching him play,” Newsome said.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve watched a player on tape and play after play you just go, ‘Wow, oh wow.’ The way he played on tape is the way you have to play in the AFC North.”

http://www.baltimoreravens.com/news/article-1/Round-1-Ravens-Select-S-Matt-Elam-With-First-Pick/d94e7903-5ec3-49be-ab11-ae60725c65e4

 

[vmax]

Ozzie turned this pick in fast so I knew that the brass loved him.

That alone bodes well.

 

I love this pick. He's a playmaker.

An Enforcer. Natural, perfect football instincts. He can blitz the QB.

The Ravens can use him in any package....and he's got a chip on his sholder with 2 safeties taken before him.

 

No tackles were there to pick.....no receivers worthy of #32....The Ravens didn't need a RB or QB...

Although I was intrigued by Te'o, Elam takes this game to another level.

He'll love being a Raven.

Edited April 26, 2013 by vmax

[cravnravn]

Ed who?

 

LOVE this pick, He is a hitter..

[vmax]

 

....when Newsome flipped on the tape of Florida’s Matt Elam, he was taken aback.

The strong safety flies around the field with high energy, delivering highlight-reel hits while still wrapping up on tackles. He plays like a Ravens defender.

“I’ve never been so excited, it was fun watching him play,” Newsome said.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve watched a player on tape and play after play you just go, ‘Wow, oh wow.’ The way he played on tape is the way you have to play in the AFC North.”

Elam was Florida’s starter at strong safety the past two years. In 2011, he led the team in tackles for loss (11), pass breakups (seven) and forced fumbles (two). In 2012, he logged 76 tackles, once again making 11 of them for a loss. He added two sacks, one forced fumble, and four interceptions.

“This guy, quite honestly, just about every chance he had to get a guy down, he did,” DeCosta said. “He can cover very well. He’s played high, he’s played low. He has ball skills.”

http://www.baltimoreravens.com/news/article-1/Round-1-Ravens-Select-S-Matt-Elam-With-First-Pick/d94e7903-5ec3-49be-ab11-ae60725c65e4

 

No drafting on potential here....Matt is a proven playmaker who knows how to get to the ball.

[cravnravn]

 

Gators safety Matt Elam had to wait until the end, but it was worth the wait.

Elam was the last player selected in the first round of the draft Thursday night, eventually landing with the defending Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens.

Elam's hard-hitting, ball-hawking style will be a perfect fit in Baltimore as the Ravens look to usher in a new era of defense following the retirement of legendary linebacker Ray Lewis and the departure of future Hall of Fame free safety Ed Reed.

The team also decided not to re-sign bruising veteran strong safety Bernard Pollard.

"They have a void at both safeties," coach Will Muschamp said Thursday night. "Matt is very mature, very smart. He will translate well to the pro level."

A first-team first-team All-America in 2012, Elam who had 78 tackles, four interceptions and set the tone for the nation’s fifth-ranked defense in 2012.

Projected to be a late first-round or early second-round pick, Elam was the third safety selected Thursday. Texas' Kenny Vacarro went No. 15 to New Orleans and LSU's Eric Reid went two spots later to San Francisco.

The only knock on the 208-pound Elam is his height (5.9 7/8), but he ran a 4.43-second 40 at February's scouting combine, had a 35 ½-inhttps://content.p2p.tribuneinteractive.com/content_items/edit/75652494ch vertical leap and bench pressed 225 pounds 17 times.

"I'll bring a lot of competitiveness and a lot of energy," Elam told reporters per Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (@AaronWilson). "Size doesn't matter. I competed well."

Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome said by the time the 32nd pick arrived, Elam was the highest-rated player on the Ravens' draft board.

"I've never been so excited," Newsome gushed. "It was fun watching him play. To watch a player on tape and play after play you say, 'Oh wow.'"

Elam is the third Florida safety to go in the first round, joining Louis Oliver (1989) and Reggie Nelson (2007). He is the sixth Gators defensive back drafted in the first round since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/blogs/swamp-things/os-uf-gators-safety-matt-elam-selected-no-32-by-super-bowl-champion-baltimore-ravens-20130425,0,3312770.post

Edited April 26, 2013 by cravnravn

[cravnravn]

Ive seen some really good high lights on Elam, but I took him lightly since Florida is a College Football state, the fans are so much more college orientated than pro football. Just figured it was the media hyping the kid.

 

And as Max said, as quick as we made the pick, That was Oz's pick all along.

[colincac]

Love this kid, plays like a Raven flying around with a lot of passion for the game. I don't see height as an issue for a SS, it just gives him leverage when he's tackling. His #'s pop off the charts and his play pops off the highlights, great pick.

[varaven45]

It will be interesting to see how he and Michael Huff mesh in the secondary.

[thundercleetz]

It will be interesting to see how he and Michael Huff mesh in the secondary.

 

I think they will mesh great! Both have range to play a two deep look. Both a solid tacklers and can come up in the box. Huff might be a better matchup for tight-end because of his height, and Elam may be better against backs coming out of the backfield with his quickness. Gives us great flexibility here.

[oldno82]

I like the pick and it will really help our secondary.

Elam is a hitter that flies around and fits the Ravens' mold.

[cravnravn]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rREjDTpTedE

 

 

Hes a Raven

[vmax]

Love it!

 

• Terrell Suggs’ post when the Ravens were on the clock with their first-round pick … @untouchablejay4: IN OZZIE WE TRUST!!!!!!! [Twitter]
• Suggs’ post right after the Ravens selected Elam …. @untouchablejay4: WELCOME TO RAVENS NATION!! LETS HUNT YOUNG LION!!!!!!!! [Twitter]

[papasmurfbell]

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/05/01/ravens-swap-one-self-representing-safety-for-another/

 

 

Ravens swap one self-representing safety for another

 

Maybe the Ravens were attracted to safety Matt Elam by his size. Or his speed. Or his ball skills. Or his ability to deliver a hit.

Or maybe they like safeties who don’t have agents.

Former Ravens safety Ed Reed didn’t have an agent, hiring David Dunn only after Reed landed on the free-agent market and the Ravens weren’t stuffing enough cash into his pockets. And so, with the 32nd pick in the first round of the draft, the Ravens picked Florida safety Matt Elam.

Of all drafted players (and likely most if not all of the undrafted free agents), Elam is the only one whose official representative via NFLPA records is “Self.”

At this point, Elam doesn’t really need an agent. Instead, he needs to ask the NFLPA what the 32nd pick got last year, and he should probably wait until the 31st and 33rd picks sign their contracts in 2013, with the goal of fitting in the middle.

Eventually, however, he’ll need representation. Whether renegotiating with the Ravens or becoming a free agent, it’s too hard for a player to navigate that mine field on his own.