Their names were already linked with the Ravens' 24th pick in next weekend's NFL draft, and after visits from safety Ed Reed and cornerback Lito Sheppard this past week to the team's complex, the connection appears valid.
Reed and Sheppard are two of the premier players at their positions. With an expected run of offensive and defensive linemen through the first 20 picks, one, if not both, could be available by the time the Ravens are on the clock.
The Ravens lost cornerback Duane Starks to the Arizona Cardinals and strong safety Corey Harris to the Detroit Lions. Free safety Rod Woodson was a salary cap casualty, leaving cornerback Chris McAlister as the only returning starter in the secondary.
Reed and Sheppard have the experience and ability to contribute immediately. Reed, a four-year starter, helped lead the University of Miami to its fifth national title this past season. Sheppard was a consensus All-Southeastern Conference pick at the University of Florida, recording two interceptions and a career-high 42 tackles.
Both players have been in their share of big games and are used to being surrounded by big-time talent.
"I went to four schools [Miami, Florida, North Carolina and Tennessee] and wrote over 200 reports from those schools," Ravens director of college scouting Phil Savage said jokingly. "The rest of the country, I left to the scouts. Miami this year had an incredible team."
On a Miami team full of projected first-round picks (most experts are predicting at least four), Reed was the emotional leader of the Hurricanes. He returned three of his career-high nine interceptions last season for touchdowns and was a first-team consensus All-American.
Oklahoma's Roy Williams is expected to be the first safety taken, with Reed next. If selected, Reed would battle Anthony Mitchell for the starting free safety position, assuming the Ravens do not re-sign Woodson.
"If a guy can run and hit ... one thing about defense, there is a lot of carry-over from defenses in colleges to the defenses in the NFL," said Ravens senior vice president of football operations Ozzie Newsome.
"You can have a safety or a corner that has played in similar schemes that they have played in when they come into the NFL. They play man, zone, two-deep man, two-deep zone. They've played a lot of that so they can come in and play. This is a good year for safeties."
