Draft

I was surprised to read the op-ed "Reconsider the draft" (May 24). I expected Paul Marx to trot out the tired arguments about making sure all classes and sectors of our society equally bear the burden of military service. And, of course, the author mentions some of the prominent draft dodgers. But I hold nothing against Dick Cheney for evading that illegal war in Vietnam. I do condemn, however, his malicious responsibility for sending others, under false pretences, to participate in the immoral invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq.

The Ravens and third-round draft pick Bernard Pierce agreed to terms Thursday morning, a league source confirmed, leaving second-round draft pick Courtney Upshaw and sixth-round draft pick Tommy Streeter as the team's only unsigned 2012 draft picks. The running back will receive a four-year contract. Pierce, who left Temple after his junior season, was named the 2011 ECAC Offensive Player of the Year after racking up 1,481 rushing yards and a school-record 27 touchdowns. He rushed for 149 yards and five touchdowns in a win over Maryland , and had 100 or more rushing yards in eight of Temple's 11 games.

Live Ravens draft chat with Matt Vensel and Chris Korman

When the Ravens' 2012 draft class takes the field Friday for the start of a three-day rookie mini-camp in Owings Mills, everybody will be accounted for and newly signed. The Ravens made sure of that Thursday, reaching an agreement with three more draft picks, including their top selection, Alabama linebacker Courtney Upshaw. The Ravens also struck deals with third-round pick Bernard Pierce, a running back from Temple and sixth-rounder Tommy Streeter, a wide receiver out of Miami on Thursday.

Bernard Pierce at a glance Running back, Temple Ht./Wt.: 6 foot,  215 pounds Born: May 10, 1990, Ardmore, Pa. High School: Glen Mills School College highlights: Pierce was the 2011 ECAC Offensive Player of the Year after he led the Owls with 1,481 yards and a school-record 27 touchdowns. He was ranked second nationally in scoring with 13.5 points a game. … Maryland fans may remember his record-breaking game where he rushed for 149 yards on 32 carries and tied a MAC record with five rushing touchdowns.

With the 169th pick in the NFL draft (fifth round), the Ravens selected Cal Poly cornerback Asa Jackson. The pick continues a Day Three trend of the Ravens selecting small-school players. In the fourth round, the Ravens took Delaware guard Gino Gradkowski and South Carolina State free safety Christian Thompson. Jackson, who is 5-foot-10 and 190 pounds, will join Baltimore's stable of young cornerbacks that includes Lardarius Webb, Jimmy Smith, and Cary Williams. He made eight interceptions during his Cal Poly career.

The Ravens took perhaps their biggest gamble ever in the first round, selecting talented yet flawed cornerback Jimmy Smith with the 27th pick in the NFL draft Thursday. The Ravens entered the draft with the 26th pick, but they slid to No. 27 when they failed to submit their selection in time and the Kansas City Chiefs jumped ahead of them. Smith brings much-needed size, speed and shutdown cornerback ability to the 21st-ranked pass defense. He also brings more red flags than career interceptions, the major reason why a top-15 talent slid to the bottom of the first round.

I applaud Paul Marx's suggestion to reinstate the draft ("Reconsider the draft," May 24). Not only do I believe in compulsory military service for men, I also believe it also should include women. As I watch the horror of the oil catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico, I question why the National Guard has not been called out. But then it occurred to me, they're in Iraq and Afghanistan. We have a "draft" — it's called a "backdoor draft." The folks who volunteered for the National Guard, expecting to be called up for local disasters, have been siphoned off to fight in the Middle East.

Shuffle off to Buffalo Sam Farmer Los Angeles Times Cam Newton might want to double up on the Under Armour because he's heading to Buffalo. The Bills have the third pick, and they're one of the seven teams picking in the top 10 that is looking for a long-term answer at quarterback. With free agency up in the air while the owners and players grab for as much money as they can get, teams are going to have to look to the draft to fill needs they might have addressed by signing available veterans.

The Ravens signed Asa Jackson on Tuesday, making the Cal Poly cornerback the first of their eight draft picks to agree to terms. The contract is a four-year deal, confirmed by a league source. Jackson was a fifth-round pick in last month's NFL draft. The 5-foot-10, 190-pound cornerback made eight interceptions during his Cal Poly career and also returned kicks and punts, averaging 14.7 yards on punt returns and 25.1 returning kickoffs. The Ravens have said Jackson will be part of the competition for returner duties and they also like the potential he brings to their secondary.

It was Ravens safety Bernard Pollard who first broke the news Tuesday on his Twitter account, announcing that a former teammate with the Houston Texans, wide receiver and kick returner Jacoby Jones, would join him and fullback Vonta Leach in Baltimore. Then, about an hour later, the Ravens confirmed the addition of Jones while also revealing that they had extended Pollard's contract for three seasons, through 2015. Jones received a two-year, $7 million deal. Terms of Pollard's new pact weren't immediately known, but it stands to reason that the configuration of the contract allowed the Ravens to fit Jones under the salary cap. "Bernard showed us last year that he is a Raven," Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome said in a statement.

The Ravens signed Asa Jackson on Tuesday, making the Cal Poly cornerback the first of their eight draft picks to agree to terms. The contract is a four-year deal, confirmed by a league source. Jackson was a fifth-round pick in last month's NFL draft. The 5-foot-10, 190-pound cornerback made eight interceptions during his Cal Poly career and also returned kicks and punts, averaging 14.7 yards on punt returns and 25.1 returning kickoffs. The Ravens have said Jackson will be part of the competition for returner duties and they also like the potential he brings to their secondary.

The Ravens have revealed the initial jersey numbers for their 2012 draft class. These numbers are subject to change -- remember, Ray Rice wore No. 39 during his first training camp -- but here are the jersey numbers that Courtney Upshaw, Kelechi Osemele and the other Ravens rookies will wear during offseason camps. Courtney Upshaw: #91 (his number at Alabama was 41) Kelechi Osemele: #72 (same number he wore at Iowa State) Bernard Pierce: #30 (same number he wore at Temple)

T.C. DiBartolo wasn't sure whether to send the email. Mount St. Mary's starting goalie for four years, he thought his career was finished after the Mountaineers' season ended last spring. DiBartolo wondered about playing in Major League Lacrosse before deciding to electronically pitch his services to the Chesapeake Bayhawks. "I debated if it was politically correct or right to send it," DiBartolo said. "I didn't really expect to get picked. But it all worked out. " The Bayhawks selected DiBartolo in the 16th round of the December's supplemental draft.

Post-WrestleMania is usually the beginning of a new fiscal calendar in WWE, where many things start fresh. While that may not necessarily be the case as it pertains to rivalries (this year there were four WrestleMania rematches at Extreme Rules, tying the record set in 2010), it seems to be the case when it comes to fresh faces and new ideas being implemented on WWE programming. Extreme Rules was a perfect example: subtle nuances such as a slight increase by the commentary team of calling moves and holds (and Michael Cole shedding most of his heel persona)

Here is a question that the Ravens will have to answer in the coming weeks: Will they be comfortable going into the season without an experienced backup behind Ray Rice? Currently, the three top guys behind Rice on the running back depth chart - second-year players Anthony Allen and Damien Berry and rookie third-round pick Bernard Pierce - will enter training camp with three combined NFL carries. All of those belong to Allen, who carried the ball three times for eight yards in the Ravens' blowout victory over theSt.

With the third pick of the fourth round Saturday, the Ravens selected Delaware guard Gino Gradkowski. He is the second offensive lineman the Ravens have taken in their first four picks (Kelechi Osemele was the other). Gradkowski is 6-foot-3, 300 pounds. The younger brother of Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Bruce Gradkowski, he transferred to Delaware from West Virginia and became one of the top linemen in the Colonial Athletic Association. When the pick was announced, Gradkowski was listed as a guard, but he can also play center.

At last week's season-ending news conference, Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome made the team's offseason needs clear: offensive line help, a pass rusher and another wide receiver. It sounds like the Ravens might be able to take care of a couple of those needs in April's NFL draft. According to Ravens director of college scouting Joe Hortiz, the strongest positions in this year's draft are quarterbacks, defensive linemen and wide receivers. Obviously, the Ravens aren't in the market for a QB, but they can nab a receiver and a pass rusher in the first couple days of the draft -- maybe one as early as the 29th overall pick.  The Ravens could use a defensive end-linebacker hybrid to pair with star outside linebacker Terrell Suggs.

Pat Boyle , a former Calvert Hall football standout who went on to play at Temple, has signed as an undrafted free agent with the Detroit Lions . The 6-foot-5 left tackle was part of the winningest four-year class in Temple history. He played in at least seven games each of his four years with the Owls. He helped open holes for running back Bernard Pierce, whom the Ravens drafted in the third round Friday . In high school, Boyle was also an All-Metro track and field selection who ranked among the best in the state in the shot put. His twin brother Sean also plays on the offensive line for Temple.

Now that I have had a couple of days to defragment my brain after a hectic NFL draft weekend, I figured I would hand out superlative style-evaluations of the Ravens' eight-player draft class. These are just the opinions of one man (though it's a man who spent much of the past two months researching draft prospects). Feel free to leave your assessments or reactions to mine in the comments section below. Best value pick: Tommy Streeter. When I did my full Ravens mock draft last week , I really wanted to project this speedy Miami wideout to the Ravens in the later rounds, but many analysts had him being drafted in the fourth or fifth round.