NFL 30 to Watch: Haloti Ngata, Defensive Tackle, Baltimore Ravens

Published: August 2, 2007, 6:45 pm

Filed under: Ravens, AFC North, BaltimoreA regular look at 30 people who will affect the 2007 NFL season. Last off-season, the Ravens lost defensive tackle Maake Kemoeatu to the Carolina Panthers. The front office was caught off guard when the Panthers signed Kemoeatu to a five-year, $27.5 million deal. Especially since Baltimore was trying to negotiate a new contract with the four-year vet at the time. Well, silver linings and all that. The Ravens traded up one spot -- from 13th to 12th -- to select Oregon defensive tackle Haloti Ngata. Obviously, at 6-4, 340-pounds, Ngata had the physical, um, skill set, but rookies are a fickle bunch, and there were no guarantees he'd smoothly transition to an NFL starting job. But Ngata had a couple of things going for him: First, he was 6-4, 340 pounds. Beyond that, he showed great athleticism, and forced opponents to double-team him. Second, because Ngata took up so much space, he made middle linebacker Ray Lewis' job much, much easier. When

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