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OWINGS MILLS, Md. — It is rare for Baltimore Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome to make a draft evaluation mistake, never mind admit one. After all, one of the league's most successful and respected drafters has selected nine first-round draft choices who earned Pro Bowl honors during the franchise's 14-year existence.

Yet Newsome began Monday's introductory news conference to announce the acquisition of three-time Pro Bowl former Arizona Cardinals wideout Anquan Boldin by admitting his 2003 mis-evaluation of Boldin the football player.

Newsome wasn't the only GM to undervalue a tenacious, run-after-the-catch receiver whose timed speed didn't match up to his play speed and intangibles.

Because of a relatively slow 4.71-second, 40-yard dash posted at the 2003 NFL scouting combine, the former Florida State standout slipped into the second round of that year's draft. The Cardinals selected a gem with the 54th overall pick.

But Newsome atoned for his rare mistake with Fridahy's trade in which the Ravens sent third- and fourth-round picks in the April 22-24 draft to Arizona in exchange for Boldin and Arizona's fifth-round pick in 2010.

"Not too many times do you get a chance to recover from a mistake," Newsome said. "I think I made a mistake in that draft to worry more about measurables than worry about the football player. And what Anquan is is a football player."

"We have some standards that are set in our room on measurables. One of the first players I ever went against that was with Ray (Lewis). Ray didn't fit our measurables. But I saw the football player."

All Lewis, the 26th overall pick of the 1996 draft, has done is reward Newsome's gut instinct with 11 Pro Bowl honors as the heart and soul of the Ravens' vaunted defense.

"In this situation, I got blinded a little bit," Newsome said, referencing Boldin. "And I didn't appreciate the football player as much as I should have.

"It took me seven years. But I finally got it right."

Newsome said he's become a huge Boldin fan since he burst onto the scene as a rookie with 101 receptions. Boldin's 586 receptions since 2003 rank seventh-most in the league.

"I always enjoyed watching him — the way he approached the game and the way he played the game," Newsome said. "Now I have the opportunity to watch him play for us in Baltimore."

He has caught 44 touchdowns, including 11 in 2008 when he missed two games following a chilling ricochet hit between New York Jets safeties Eric Smith and Kerry Rhodes, after which Boldin needed seven tissue-thin titanium plates and more than 40 screws inserted into his face to anchor reconstructive surgery.

With sophomore receiver Early Ducet emerging during the postseason and Steve Breaston a capable complement, Boldin, the "other" receiver to Cardinals wideout Larry Fitzgerald in Arizona, became Baltimore's de facto No. 1 receiver. He is expected to help immensely in the development of third-year quarterback Joe Flacco.

"Arizona had been the only home I'd known professionally. I'd been there seven years and built a lot of relationships," Boldin said. "It's kind of hard to leave something like that. But in order for us to grow as human beings, change is necessary. And this is definitely a welcome change for me."

Boldin has averaged 84 catches, 1,074 yards and six touchdowns for his career, surpassing the 1,000-yard receiving mark in five of his seven seasons.

"I think this is a place that fits me — the way that I approach the game, the way that I play the game," Boldin said. "The guys they have here (are) hard-nosed guys who want to win. They don't worry about the glory. They're guys who want to get the job done. I think I fit in well with that.

"I wanted to go somewhere where I had an opportunity to win a championship. I feel like I have that here. And (secondly), a place that plays defense, runs the ball well and has a great young quarterback. Baltimore fits that to a T."

Boldin gives Flacco a sure-handed option who brings a physical presence as a chain-moving playmaker and a willing blocker in the run game. The 6-1, 217-pound Boldin figures to complement running backs Ray Rice, Willis McGahee and help elevate last season's 18th-ranked passing game by causing matchup problems for defenses looking to stack the box against Baltimore's fifth-ranked run game.

The Ravens' all-time leading receiver, Derrick Mason, remains an unsigned free agent, but the team did add speedy Donte' Stallworth last month.

"Hopefully, I can add a piece outside," Boldin said. "The way they run the ball here is unbelievable. They're just the opposite here of what we were in Arizona. These guys here see eight, nine-man fronts. We saw six, seven, eight guys in the secondary. Hopefully, when guys try to stack the box, that's when I'll come into play."

Ravens coach John Harbaugh had dinner with Boldin on Sunday night and said Boldin's versatility as a former high school quarterback will be another resource offensive coordinator Cam Cameron will find creative ways to utilize.

"He's our kind of player," Harbaugh said. "This is something we've been hoping for for a long time."

Boldin, who was peeved in insisting Cardinals management reneged on a promise to renegotiate his deal two years ago, said it meant a lot to him "to be wanted" in Baltimore. The Ravens stepped up and extended his deal to three more years with $25 million in new money tacked onto the $3 million he will make in the upcoming season.

Boldin is already well-versed with the Ravens' archrivals, the Pittsburgh Steelers.

"I'm seeking a little revenge on Pittsburgh anyway," he said. "They beat us in the Super Bowl. So I'm definitely looking forward to that matchup."

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