Fall to 3rd round surprises Davis, Ravens

IOWA CITY - Friday night was full of surprises for Iowa defensive tackle Carl Davis and the Baltimore Ravens.

Davis expected to get drafted in the late first round or early second round. Ravens officials expected Davis to get drafted in an early round, too. So when Davis was available by the time Baltimore selected in the third round, the Ravens ended the surprises by picking Davis 90th overall.

The unceremonious drop frustrated Davis.

'Oh my God, it's ridiculous,” he said. 'I'm so motivated right now because I was expecting to go somewhere.

'I feel like I'm one of the best defensive tackles in this year's draft, and I saw a lot of guys get picked ahead of me and that's a chip on my shoulder. When there's a chip on my shoulder, I feel like there's nobody that can stop me. I feel like I'm that much of a dominant player.”

Davis (6-foot-5, 320 pounds) was named the defensive practice player of the week at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala. That when Ravens officials really noticed Davis.

'I think a lot of scouts will agree if you go down to Mobile and dominate for the week and play extremely well in the game, that's a really good sign,” said Ravens assistant general manager Eric DeCosta. 'Guys who do that, we think, have the skills to play at a high level in the NFL and we think Carl is one of those guys.”

Ravens General Manager Ozzie Newsome referenced his background working alongside Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz, who formerly served as offensive line and assistant head coach with the Ravens. DeCosta said Davis fits the Ravens' scheme and helps fill the void of Haloti Ngata, who was traded to Detroit. Baltimore runs a 3-4 defense with several deviations.

Davis said he's focused on filling Ngata's role and learning Baltimore's defense. But he's also got revenge on his mind, too.

'When I slid down to the third round, I was down,” he said. 'I just didn't know what was the reason for this. It was just out of my control. All I could do was just pray.

'It's basically my job to make every other team regret not taking me early.”

Davis was a second-team all-Big Ten defensive tackle at Iowa and started his last 26 games.

l Comments: (319) 339-3169; scott.dochterman@thegazette.com