Coming out of their 2011 NFL Draft, the Ravens already have a target for first-round cornerback Jimmy Smith.
Count the Cincinnati Bengals’ fourth-overall draft pick A.J. Green tops on his shut-down list.
“The expectations are going to be really high,” Ravens Defensive Coordinator Chuck Pagano told Smith during a brief visit to team headquarters in Owings Mills, Md. “Every week, our deal with you is… Who just got A.J. Green? Cincy, right? Do you want that? Can you handle that? That’s why you’re here.”
The Ravens have made no secret about their desire to pair their 27th-overall selection with the opposition’s best wideout from Day 1.
“We’ve got your back, you’ve got our back. You’re going to play great for us. Just know every week, you’re matching up with their best. That’s why we got you,” Pagano said to Smith.
The California native will welcome the added work.
After showing promise during his two seasons at the University of Colorado, Smith was treated like the plague by quarterbacks during his junior and senior years.
During that span, the 6-foot-2, 210-pounder allowed only 11 completions in man-to-man coverage and was only thrown to about 20 times as a senior.
“Sometimes it does get tough because they just don’t look at you,” Smith said. “You’re just making tackles, so I just felt like a linebacker playing corner sometimes.”
Still, the Ravens are confident Smith can team with Domonique Foxworth and Lardarius Webb – and perhaps free-agents-to-be Josh Wilson and Chris Carr – to make up a dangerous cornerback unit.
“We’ve had elite, shutdown corners in the past, and we just got the next one,” Pagano said. “The next great Raven cover corner, OK? You’re going to match up with everybody’s finest, so get ready to go to work.”
