That naturally felt like a stretch. Why should one of the best pure talent evaluators in the past few generations of the NFL change the way he goes about the draft?
Newsome, 62, is passing the baton. He probably could have stuck with this job another five years had he wanted to. But Eric DeCosta, Newsome’s longtime lieutenant in-waiting, will get his chance next year — and really, DeCosta has had his stamp on many of the Ravens’ moves over the years. There’s a reason why he’s the GM-to-be and why he’s passed over chances to run the show for other NFL teams time and time again.