Ravens trade out of the 1st Round in 2012 Draft…

You could kind of see it coming… and sure enough, Ravens’ GM Ozzie Newsome pulled back and decided to let it ride on the 2nd round…

It became apparent when LB Luke Kuechly left in the 9th pick by Carolina and OG David Decastro went to Pittsburgh in the 24th and LB Dont’a Hightower went #25 to the Patriots that Ozzie said, “OK, that’s enough, I will live to fight another day…”

So with plenty of talent remaining on the board, General Manager Ozzie Newsome opted to trade out of the first round in Thursday’s NFL Draft. It’s not exciting, but Newsome called it “good business” to move back.

Baltimore moved back from pick No. 29 to the 35th-overall selection, which is the third pick in the second round, in a trade with the Minnesota Vikings. The Ravens got an additional fourth-round pick through the trade, which is the third overall selection on Day 3 (No. 98 overall).

They will be on the clock soon after the draft restarts at 7 p.m. on Friday.

“A couple teams called us,” Newsome said. “We had several players that we liked still available for us tomorrow.”

The Ravens passed on taking Georgia guard Cordy Glenn, Alabama outside linebacker Courtney Upshaw, Georgia Tech wide receiver Stephen Hill and other prospects that were still on the board and have been linked to Baltimore in mock drafts.

“We have some guys that if we were stuck at No. 29, we could have picked,” Newsome said. “One of those guys is still available for us.”

Baltimore has shown it’s not afraid to move back and still take a shot at getting one of its coveted prospects.

They traded out of the first round in 2010, moving back from No. 25 to 43 and picking up extra third- and fourth-round selections. They ended up taking linebacker Sergio Kindle with their first pick in the second round and tight ends Ed Dickson and Dennis Pitta with the third and fourth, respectively.

The Ravens have now traded in the draft every year since 2001. They have traded in the first round in four of the last five years with last April as the only exception.

As the draft played out and talented players that Baltimore could be interested in were still remaining, it became more evident that Newsome could make a move back again.

Newsome said reporters probably could have anticipated the move.

While there’s the natural disappointment of not having a pick, Newsome said it was a successful night.

“You can’t control what’s going to happen,” he said. “As long as I’m here hopefully I’m picking No. 29, 30, 31 or 32. When you watch the board come off the way it did today, to have the ability to go back, acquire another player and still get a player you would have taken at your [original] pick, it’s good business for us.”

Popular fan pick Dont’a Hightower was taken 25th overall by the New England Patriots, who traded up six spots with Denver. Guard Kevin Zeitler was taken 27th by the Cincinnati Bengals.

The Ravens’ AFC North foes all made well-received picks.

The Browns took running back Trent Richardson (No. 3) and quarterback Brandon Weeden (No. 22). The Steelers took guard David DeCastro (No. 24). The Bengals selected cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick (No. 17) and Zeitler.

Total Round 1 Draft Results for April 26, 2012….