OWINGS MILLS -- Over dinner earlier this year at a Florida restaurant, Baltimore Ravens All-Pro free safety Ed Reed began schooling Christian Thompson on the various nuances of the NFL. The South Carolina State free safety talked football with the NFL Defensive Player of the Year, exchanging numbers and staying in touch throughout the draft process. "He told me to stay on top of my game," Thompson told the Times on Sunday in a telephone interview. "He told somebody is always trying to take your position from you and to make sure I worked harder than everybody else. He gave me some great advice about football and life." Little did Reed or Thompson know that they would wind up being teammates. Now, Thompson is overjoyed to have been drafted in the fourth round by Baltimore with the 130th overall pick where he'll join Reed in the Ravens' secondary. "This is a blessing in disguise," Thompson said. "It's like a dream come true. Myself and p...

OWINGS MILLS -- Huddled around general manager Ozzie Newsome and coach John Harbaugh with cameras capturing the moment, the Baltimore Ravens' top three draft picks donned purple team baseball caps and broke into big smiles. As outside linebacker Courtney Upshaw, offensive lineman Kelechi Osemele and running back Bernard Pierce were introduced at team headquarters Saturday, the defending AFC North champions stuck to their strategy of reinforcing the depth of the roster. While Upshaw and Osemele will immediately compete for starting jobs at strongside linebacker and left guard and Pierce is regarded as the frontrunner to back up Pro Bowl running back Ray Rice, the Ravens utilized the final day of the NFL draft to keep filling holes. "If you look back over the three days and what we've been able to do with our football team, you all knew the areas that we wanted to address," Newsome said. "They all come with different skills. I think we've been able to do it ...

OWINGS MILLS -- Every year, the Baltimore Ravens are looking for the next Bart Scott, Jameel McClain, Mike Flynn or B.J. Sams. The quest to find good football players doesn't stop when the seventh round of the NFL draft ends. "Even though we’re done collecting players with draft picks, this starts the process of the undrafted college free agents as soon as the draft is over," Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome said Saturday night. "We’re putting that process in place right now, working with the coaches. The coaches and the scouts are working together so we can attack that once the draft finishes.” The defending AFC North champions have already hammered out deals with undrafted rookies with coach John Harbaugh, director of college scouting Joe Hortiz, scouts, coaches and other team officials recruiting the players. Although the deals won't become official until the player passes a physical and signs his contract, the Ravens have agreed to...

Courtney Upshaw was one of six players left in the Radio City Music Hall green room as the first round of the NFL draft concluded. Even though the Ravens took him with the 35th pick in the NFL draft, it was later than he anticipated. Upshaw’s journey as an NFL player got underway Saturday, as he boarded a train and headed to the Ravens complex in Owings Mills to be introduced to the media along with fellow 2nd round pick Kelechi Osemele (G-Iowa State) and third round pick Bernard Pierce (RB- Temple). Upshaw was very busy when it came time for one-on-one interviews but I did have a few minutes to talk to one of the newest Baltimore Ravens. Welcome to Baltimore, have you ever been here before? CU: Yes, I’ve been here for a meeting but that’s it. In that short time were you able to experience a crab cake or anything else the city has to offer? CU: People keep tweeting me about crab cakes but I haven’t had one. Knowing how close Ozzie Newsome is...

Courtney Upshaw boarded a train from New York to Baltimore late Friday night, a short journey that delivered the latest defensive standout to the Baltimore Ravens' roster. The Ravens were intent on upgrading a pass rush headlined by NFL Defensive Player of the Year outside linebacker Terrell Suggs. And they wanted to reinforce a run defense left with a gaping hole after the departure of gritty outside linebacker Jarret Johnson when he signed a $19 million contract with the San Diego Chargers. By drafting Upshaw, an imposing Alabama All-American outside linebacker Courtney Upshaw in the second round with the 35th overall pick obtained via a trade from the Minnesota Vikings, the defending AFC North champions are confident they've accomplished both goals. As a run-stuffing presence setting the edge of the defense, the stout 6-foot-2, 272-pounder provides an accomplished, productive skill with his ability to anchor, shed blocks and make tackles. "I think that's his spec...

Months after Pro Bowl offensive guard Ben Grubbs joined the New Orleans Saints via a $36 million contract, the Baltimore Ravens acquired an imposing potential replacement. The Ravens drafted Iowa State left offensive tackle Kelechi Osemele in the second round Friday night with the 60th overall pick with designs on having the mauling 6-foot-5, 333-pounder compete with Jah Reid for the starting left guard vacancy created by Grubbs' departure. The Ravens will also evaluate the four-year starter at right offensive tackle, currently manned by Michael Oher, who has played left offensive tackle in the past. The Ravens weren't thrilled with left offensive tackle Bryant McKinnie's conditioning and run blocking last season, but retained him for this season by picking up a $500,000 roster bonus in March. "I feel like I bring a lot of competitiveness and I feel like I bring a lot of physicality and aggression to the table," Osemele said during a conference call. "I ju...

Maneuvering upward in the third round through a trade with the Atlanta Falcons, the Baltimore Ravens drafted bruising Temple junior running back Bernard Pierce. By sending their third-round draft pick, 91st overall, and a fifth-round pick, 164th overall, the Ravens went up seven spots to obtain their likely primary backup to Pro Bowl running back Ray Rice. Although Pierce will have to compete with Anthony Allen and Damien Berry, the ultra-productive 6-foot, 218-pounder immediately becomes the frontrunner to win the job and provide a physical presence behind the Ravens' franchise player. Pierce rushed for 3,570 career yards and 53 touchdowns, gaining 1,481 yards and scoring 21 touchdowns last season. "He is a one-cut runner with some size," general manager Ozzie Newsome said. "He runs very well behind his pads, and that's the style of running game that we're using right now." Pierce met with team officials at the Ravens' training complex during the ...

The Baltimore Ravens retreated out of the first round for the second time in three years, a strategy that provided them more ammunition in terms of draft picks and still allows them to potentially land one of their coveted prospects. It wasn't a hasty move. It was a calculated reaction after the New England Patriots drafted two intriguing defensive players by maneuvering up to draft versatile Alabama middle linebacker Dont'a Hightower and Syracuse defensive end Chandler Jones, the younger brother of Ravens defensive lineman Arthur Jones Despite trading the 29th overall pick of the first round to the Minnesota Vikings in exchange for the Vikings' second-round draft pick at 35th overall and the Vikings' fourth-round pick at 98th overall, the Ravens could still get one of the players they had targeted for the first round. That includes Alabama All-American hybrid pass rusher Courtney Upshaw, Wisconsin center Peter Konz and athletic Georgia Tech wide receiver Stephen Hill. ...

OWINGS MILLS — Dont’a Hightower bulldozed fullbacks, chased down swift running backs, bull-rushed hefty offensive tackles and led the Alabama defensive huddle with intelligence and leadership. It’s not hard to ascertain why the punishing Crimson Tide middle linebacker is so coveted by NFL teams. Hard-nosed, athletic and built for heavy contact at a sturdy 6-foot-2, 265 pounds, Hightower is capable of playing inside linebacker, outside linebacker, defensive end and as a situational pass rusher in the NFL. A two-time team captain, Hightower recorded 85 tackles, 11 for losses, four sacks and one interception last season. He’s known for his pass-rushing skills, his ability to stonewall the running game and for his physical, nasty style of play. “Hightower is a great player, there is no doubt about it,” Ravens director of player personnel Eric DeCosta said. “He is an explosive guy. We’ve seen him play live many times, obviously with the A...

The Baltimore Ravens are interested in bolstering the linebacker position in general. They also brought in Utah State inside linebacker Bobby Wagner and Cal inside linebacker Mychal Kendricks for visits to team headquarters and worked out North Carolina linebacker Zach Brown. All three are graded as potential second-round picks. Wagner is a four-year starter, two-time captain and a three-time All-Western Athletic Conference selection. He was voted the Most Outstanding Player on the North squad during the Senior Bowl with seven tackles (one for loss) and an interception and is graded as a solid second-round draft prospect. The 6-foot, 241-pounder made an excellent recovery from a bout with pneumonia that required hospitalization and prevented him from participating in the NFL scouting combine. Wagner ran the 40-yard dash in 4.46 and 4.47 seconds at his campus Pro Day workout where he also had a 39.5-inch vertical leap and an 11-foot broad jump. He bench pressed 225 ...