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During rookie minicamp on Saturday, Cleveland Browns running back Terrance West confirmed to the media that the Baltimore Ravens intended to take him in the third round with the 99th pick of the draft.
Terrance West said #Ravens texted his agent to tell him they wanted to take him at 99; #Browns jumped in front and got him at 94
— Daryl Ruiter (@RuiterWrongFAN) May 17, 2014
And with that, Browns GM Ray Farmer deserves credit for out-maneuvering another team during the draft -- this time the Ravens and GM Ozzie Newsome -- to score West at little cost (a 6th-round pick sent to the 49ers). When the Ravens missed on West, they instead took RB Lorenzo Taliaferro at the end of the fourth round. The other maneuvering came in the first round when Farmer traded up to No. 22 to outbid the Minnesota Vikings for QB Johnny Manziel.
When Farmer talked to the media last week following the draft, he acknowledged that he had a feeling that West was about to be taken, so that's why they traded back into the third round:
"I believe I got to Terrance West just before somebody got to Terrance West. I don't know who specifically, but there was definitely the feeling that, the term we like to use in our draft room is 'murderer's row.' When murderer's row comes up, you're going to lose the guys that you want. There were several instances throughout the draft where we referred to pods of teams that could take players that we were interested in. As we saw those pods of teams coming up, we felt it was advantageous for us to move in front of those teams."
Ozzie Newsome on not getting Towson running back Terrance West: 'We liked Terrence. Now, we just have to face him twice a year.'
— Aaron Wilson (@RavensInsider) May 10, 2014
From a personal standpoint, having been a Baltimore native, I'm sure West was a little disappointed at first that his home-town team was going to draft him, only to then have another team swoop in and negate that possibility. I'm sure he's already over it, though -- once you're on a team, that's your team.
"Now, my favorite team is the Cleveland Browns. I wasn't sure where I was going, but it was a shocker when I got a call. I thought it was a prank call because the 49ers were on the clock and I saw an Ohio number on my phone. It was the Browns general manager [Ray Farmer] on the phone and he said, 'Are you ready to go?' It was amazing."
"I'm looking forward to [playing the Ravens twice a season]. Can't wait [but] I'm going to look at every game as the same...We have a goal and that's to win a championship."