The Baltimore Ravens have never had an issue with their defense. But after the 2013 season, many of their stars left, including Ed Reed and Ray Lewis. After acquiring Rolando McClain and Elvis Dumervil in free agency, the Ravens are considering adding one more linebacker to the bunch during the NFL Draft, preferably someone that can be a strong pass rusher.
The team has expressed interest in former Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o and is not denying that they are pursuing him as a first round option. The Baltimore Ravens will draft No. 32 overall, last in the first round. Te'o was not originally projected as a first round option, but has seen a sudden rise in draft stock after many teams expressed interest in needing a linebacker. Ravens assistant general manager Eric DeCosta has said the team has had a lot of conversations with Te'o.
"I think he's a quality kid. I think he's very,very intelligent. I think he's a heck of a football player and I think he's going to make some team extremely happy," DeCosta said.
Despite running one of the slowest 40-yard dash times for the position group during the NFL combine, the Ravens still showed a great deal of interest in him, holding meetings with him during and after the scouting event. Many teams have overlooked Te'o due to questions surrounding his character. The linebacker was in the middle of a media scandal regarding a fake girlfriend hoax earlier in the year. Pairing that with a poor performance at the National Championship game and many began to question the linebacker's future in the league.
During a pre-draft press conference, Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome did not classify Te'o's situation as a case of bad character. When reporters asked about the hoax and the way Te'o handled the situation, Newsome implied none of that reflects poorly on Te'o.
"But is that beating women, is that using drugs, is it DUI? How do you clarify that? I couldn't," Newsome said.
Head coach John Harbaugh echoed Newsome saying the team was considering Te'o as a possible target and that the reigning Super Bowl champs would have no issue drafting him.
"You look at his body of work, what he has accomplished, who he is as a person, where he comes from. We feel good about Manti."
