Marc Anthony to Ravens: How Does Cornerback Fit with Baltimore?

Marc Anthony was rated as a fourth- or fifth-round pick by most draft experts, but he fell because of a slow 40-yard dash time at the combine, which raised questions about his ability to play corner in the NFL.  With the Baltimore Ravens, I expect Anthony will make a switch to free safety as well as compete for playing time in nickel and dime packages.

Role

The Ravens have no backup free safety penciled in behind Michael Huff, so Anthony will come in and compete with Omar Brown, Emanuel Cook and Christian Thompson.  However, all of those players have been in the Ravens' organization for over a year, so Anthony may have a disadvantage there.  He could also compete to play as the nickle or dime back, where he won't be responsible for deep coverage as much as an outside corner would be.  

Anthony will also need to prove he can play special teams in order to beat out any of the other players.  Anthony is willing to throw his body around to make a play, but because of this he also struggled to stay healthy throughout his college career.  

Early Projections

Anthony is a scrappy corner with good instincts and size, but he lacks hip flexibility and recovery speed, which limits his potential.  The Ravens likely drafted him because he was a three-year starter for Cal (32 starts), which is one of the most critical parts of evaluation for their scouting department.  He could become a good free safety for the Ravens, so if he takes well to coaching, I would expect him to stick as a backup there.

If he doesn't make the team, the Ravens will probably try to stash him on the practice squad for a year to let him develop.

Rob Engle is the co-founder of DraftBreakdown.com.  Check out DraftBreakdown for analysis, mock draft, and video footage of hundreds of draft prospects.