In his last trip through the first round of the NFL Draft Thursday night, Ravens GM Ozzie Newsome gave a performance that stretched the limits of one’s vocabulary.
“It was masterful, the way it happened in that draft room tonight,” said Newsome, who is usually not given to overstatement.
“What happened tonight in that draft room was a masterpiece,” Ravens Head Coach Jon Harbaugh added, echoing the theme.
Masterful. Masterpiece. Let me add a slightly less highfaluting description: It was flipping unbelievable.
In the span of 32 picks lasting slightly more than three hours, Newsome traded back twice, traded up once, filled the Ravens’ biggest immediate need, landed the franchise’s quarterback of the future, and in the end, no doubt, lit a fire under a fan base that’s been sulking through the offseason.