Patrick Peterson

Ravens cornerback Jimmy Smith recently chatted with Mark Kriegel of FOX Sports, who asked the 2011 first-round pick about the draft process, how he stacked up against his peers, what Ray Lewis said to him over the weekend and which number he plans on wearing in Baltimore. One thing we’ve learned about the Ravens’ newest cornerback is that he has plenty of confidence. Smith thinks he is the best cornerback in this class , ahead of Patrick Peterson, who went fifth overall to the Cardinals, and Prince Amukamara, who went 19th to the Giants.

Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco is one of three finalists for the GMC “Never Say Never Moment of the Week,” which honors the best moment or play of the week. Flacco's 26-yard touchdown strike to rookie wide receiver Torrey Smith with eight seconds left in the fourth quarter propelled the Ravens to a 23-20 come-from-behind victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday night. Flacco is competing with Arizona Cardinals punt returner Patrick Peterson and New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning for the award.

The Ravens have a few things on their shopping list for the NFL draft, but the top prospects will be scooped up by the time they step up to the podium for pick No. 26. But what if the Ravens somehow were handed the top pick in the draft? Yes, I know, this isn't going to happen. But a little fantasy drafting should be fun to discuss. In this hypothetical, the Ravens could take one of the draft's elite cornerbacks in Patrick Peterson or Prince Amukamara. They could select A.J. Green or Julio Jones to add a big-play receiver to the offense.

As a former special teams coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles, John Harbaugh has a personal interest in the Ravens' special teams. Naturally, the Ravens head coach had an opinion on the 82-yard punt return for a touchdown the team surrendered to Patrick Peterson in the second quarter of the Ravens' 30-27 win against the Arizona Cardinals Sunday. “Well, you've got to tackle, you know?” Harbaugh said during his weekly news conference Monday. “The punt return, we looked bad on that. We didn't get down the field fast enough. We didn't look fast at all. We didn't tackle.

The Ravens' stirring 30-27 comeback over the Arizona Cardinals Sunday masked a few deficiencies. One of those is the play of the special teams, which surrendered an 82-yard punt return for a touchdown by Arizona rookie Patrick Peterson in the second quarter. Add the 107-yard kick return for a touchdown by the New York Jets' Joe McKnight on Oct. 2, and it's the first time the Ravens have surrendered touchdowns on kick and punt returns in the same season since 2002. “It's disappointing,” said linebacker Albert McClellan, who leads the team in special-teams stops with seven this year.

As a former special teams coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles, John Harbaugh has a personal interest in the Ravens' special teams. Naturally, the Ravens head coach had an opinion on the 82-yard punt return for a touchdown the team surrendered to Patrick Peterson in the second quarter of the Ravens' 30-27 win against the Arizona Cardinals Sunday. “Well, you've got to tackle, you know?” Harbaugh said during his weekly news conference Monday. “The punt return, we looked bad on that. We didn't get down the field fast enough. We didn't look fast at all. We didn't tackle.

Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco is one of three finalists for the GMC “Never Say Never Moment of the Week,” which honors the best moment or play of the week. Flacco's 26-yard touchdown strike to rookie wide receiver Torrey Smith with eight seconds left in the fourth quarter propelled the Ravens to a 23-20 come-from-behind victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday night. Flacco is competing with Arizona Cardinals punt returner Patrick Peterson and New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning for the award.

Ken Zalis, owner of http://www.fansfantasyfootball.com Guest on The Rob Long Show, Fox 1370 and blogger at roblongshow.com Ranked for the last 3 year in the Top 75 for Mock Drafts at http://www.thehuddlereport.com 3 year average in top 25 Here is my Mock as of 4-13-11 DRAFT ORDER DRAFT NEEDS PICK COULD BE 1. Carolina (2-14) DL, OLB, TE, Q B Cam Newton - Auburn - QB Marcell Dareus - Alabama - DT 2. Denver (4-12)

Are you an NFL draft junkie just counting the days until the first round gets under way April 28? If so, email your complete mock draft to sports@baltimoresun.com and we'll publish it here. Ken Zalis, owner of fansfantasyfootball.com , guest on The Rob Long Show, Fox 1370 and blogger at roblongshow.com. Ranked for the last 3 years in the Top 75 for Mock Drafts at thehuddlereport.com . Three-year average in top 25. Here is my Mock as of 4-13-11: DRAFT ORDER DRAFT NEEDS PICK COULD BE 1. Carolina (2-14)

The 2010 NFL season is over and it's unclear if and when the 2011 season will start, but I have good news for Ravens fans (well, besides the Steelers losing to the Packers in the Super Bowl). That's right, it's mock draft season, which means we'll be glued to the TV whenever ESPN's Mel Kiper and Todd McShay scream at each other about what college students look like with their shirts off or we'll be digging up information about a random punter from Idaho just because some yahoo on the Internet said the Ravens will take him at No. 26. Between now and April's draft -- yes, there will be one no matter what -- I'll pump out a few mock drafts, too. Feel free to let me know your thoughts, but remember, they are purely speculative and shouldn't be taken too seriously.

The Ravens' stirring 30-27 comeback over the Arizona Cardinals Sunday masked a few deficiencies. One of those is the play of the special teams, which surrendered an 82-yard punt return for a touchdown by Arizona rookie Patrick Peterson in the second quarter. Add the 107-yard kick return for a touchdown by the New York Jets' Joe McKnight on Oct. 2, and it's the first time the Ravens have surrendered touchdowns on kick and punt returns in the same season since 2002. “It's disappointing,” said linebacker Albert McClellan, who leads the team in special-teams stops with seven this year.

Ravens cornerback Jimmy Smith recently chatted with Mark Kriegel of FOX Sports, who asked the 2011 first-round pick about the draft process, how he stacked up against his peers, what Ray Lewis said to him over the weekend and which number he plans on wearing in Baltimore. One thing we’ve learned about the Ravens’ newest cornerback is that he has plenty of confidence. Smith thinks he is the best cornerback in this class , ahead of Patrick Peterson, who went fifth overall to the Cardinals, and Prince Amukamara, who went 19th to the Giants.

Ken Zalis, owner of http://www.fansfantasyfootball.com Guest on The Rob Long Show, Fox 1370 and blogger at roblongshow.com Ranked for the last 3 year in the Top 75 for Mock Drafts at http://www.thehuddlereport.com 3 year average in top 25 Here is my Mock as of 4-13-11 DRAFT ORDER DRAFT NEEDS PICK COULD BE 1. Carolina (2-14) DL, OLB, TE, Q B Cam Newton - Auburn - QB Marcell Dareus - Alabama - DT 2. Denver (4-12)

Are you an NFL draft junkie just counting the days until the first round gets under way April 28? If so, email your complete mock draft to sports@baltimoresun.com and we'll publish it here. Ken Zalis, owner of fansfantasyfootball.com , guest on The Rob Long Show, Fox 1370 and blogger at roblongshow.com. Ranked for the last 3 years in the Top 75 for Mock Drafts at thehuddlereport.com . Three-year average in top 25. Here is my Mock as of 4-13-11: DRAFT ORDER DRAFT NEEDS PICK COULD BE 1. Carolina (2-14)

The scouting combine and most pro day workouts have been completed, and with the NFL draft just a few weeks away, there has been a significant amount of shuffling in my third NFL mock draft of the offseason. It all starts at the top, where a pair of passers have soared to the first and third picks in my latest mock. But you don't care about that. You just want to know who the Ravens are taking with the 26th pick. Well, it's not Maryland wideout Torrey Smith, who was the pick in my first mock . And it's not Florida lineman Mike Pouncey, the Ravens' selection in my second . So who is it?

The NFL's annual meat market has come and gone, leaving fans of watching grown men running around in spandex on an obstacle course channel-surfing for "American Gladiator" reruns. Thanks to the non-stop coverage of the combine, we have a ton of measurables and info on these pro prospects at our fingertips, so now seems like a good time for me to do my second NFL mock draft of the offseason. Last time around, I projected that the Ravens would draft Maryland wide receiver Torrey Smith . In this one, I have them selecting Florida offensive lineman Mike Pouncey.

The NFL's annual meat market has come and gone, leaving fans of watching grown men running around in spandex on an obstacle course channel-surfing for "American Gladiator" reruns. Thanks to the non-stop coverage of the combine, we have a ton of measurables and info on these pro prospects at our fingertips, so now seems like a good time for me to do my second NFL mock draft of the offseason. Last time around, I projected that the Ravens would draft Maryland wide receiver Torrey Smith . In this one, I have them selecting Florida offensive lineman Mike Pouncey.

The scouting combine and most pro day workouts have been completed, and with the NFL draft just a few weeks away, there has been a significant amount of shuffling in my third NFL mock draft of the offseason. It all starts at the top, where a pair of passers have soared to the first and third picks in my latest mock. But you don't care about that. You just want to know who the Ravens are taking with the 26th pick. Well, it's not Maryland wideout Torrey Smith, who was the pick in my first mock . And it's not Florida lineman Mike Pouncey, the Ravens' selection in my second . So who is it?

The Ravens have a few things on their shopping list for the NFL draft, but the top prospects will be scooped up by the time they step up to the podium for pick No. 26. But what if the Ravens somehow were handed the top pick in the draft? Yes, I know, this isn't going to happen. But a little fantasy drafting should be fun to discuss. In this hypothetical, the Ravens could take one of the draft's elite cornerbacks in Patrick Peterson or Prince Amukamara. They could select A.J. Green or Julio Jones to add a big-play receiver to the offense.

The 2010 NFL season is over and it's unclear if and when the 2011 season will start, but I have good news for Ravens fans (well, besides the Steelers losing to the Packers in the Super Bowl). That's right, it's mock draft season, which means we'll be glued to the TV whenever ESPN's Mel Kiper and Todd McShay scream at each other about what college students look like with their shirts off or we'll be digging up information about a random punter from Idaho just because some yahoo on the Internet said the Ravens will take him at No. 26. Between now and April's draft -- yes, there will be one no matter what -- I'll pump out a few mock drafts, too. Feel free to let me know your thoughts, but remember, they are purely speculative and shouldn't be taken too seriously.