Ravens Select Ohio State's Simon And Harvard FB Kyle Juszczyk In 4th Round
OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) -- The Baltimore Ravens finally turned their attention to the offensive side of the football Saturday in the fourth round of the NFL draft.
After selecting three defensive players in the first three rounds on Thursday and Friday, general manager Ozzie Newsome snagged Ohio State defensive end John Simon with the 129th overall pick
Baltimore also had a compensatory pick at No. 130, and at that juncture Newsome selected Harvard fullback Kyle Juszczyk at No. 130.
Simon was a two-time team captain with the Buckeyes. At 6'1", 257 pounds, he's a bit small. But Simon was still good enough to be named All-Big Ten in his last two seasons.
"They're a tough, hard-nosed team and I feel that's how I play the game, so I'm really excited to part of the organization," said Simon, who had nine sacks as a senior at Ohio State.
Juszczyk is a 6'1", 248-pounder. He caught 125 passes for 1,576 yards and scored 22 touchdowns a tight end/H-back for the Crimson and contributed heavily to special teams.
He's listed as a fullback, which means he could spent time in practice alternating with Pro Bowl fullback Vonta Leach as the lead blocker for running back Ray Rice.
Juszczyk has the same agent as former Ravens center Matt Birk, who retired shortly after Baltimore won the Super Bowl in February. Birk also went to Harvard.
After taking safety Matt Elam, linebacker Arthur Brown and nose tackle Brandon Williams during the first two days of the draft, the Ravens were scheduled to have seven picks on Saturday. That included four compensatory picks, which cannot be traded.
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