Round 6 (206th overall): Cincinnati safety Haruki Nakamura

5 feet 10, 190 pounds

Nakamura kept a diary on BearcatInsider.com as he prepared for the draft. Here's an excerpt from one of his entries:

A shot at a dream, a dream that so many people out there feel is out of my reach because of my size, speed, or whatever else they can come up with. That fire inside that has brought me this far is beginning to fuel one more time, just to shut some mouths and open some eyes. The raging desire to establish my name in a league that people don't believe I will last in. If I were to truly listen to some of those things, I would have given up a long time, but that's not me, that's not how I was brought up and that's not how I play football.

Good profile on Nakamura in The Chronicle-Telegram. In high school at St. Edward (Ohio), he nearly quit football as a junior because he was a third-string quarterback. One of the players in front of him: Ravens quarterback Troy Smith. The article also talks about how Nakamura's mom forbid him to play football as a youngster, and how he's used his size as motivation:

“A lot of people assume that because I’m not that big of a guy, I wouldn’t be a physical player,” said Nakamura. “It’s true. I’m not 6-2 and 225 pounds. But in my eyes, that’s part of the fun. I like surprising people.”

The Chronicle-Telegram caught up with Nakamura after he was drafted:

“When I got the phone call, it was the biggest relief,” said Nakamura. “There’s a lot of weight off my chest. Now I can relax and get ready to play more football.”

NFL.com's scouting report on Nakamura:

Classic over-achieving blue collar free safety who simply makes too many plays to not get a shot at the next level. While Nakamura lacks the elite straight-line speed of some of the other higher profile athletes at the position, he plays with instincts, physicality and an ability to step up his level against top competition. Nakamura's versatility as a return specialist just adds to his value.

SI.com's scouting report on Nakamura:

POSITIVES: Productive, hard-working college defender with limited upside. Intelligent, displays good instincts, and quick diagnosing the action. Physical, works to get involved, and a willing volunteer in run defense. Displays a burst of straight-line speed, takes good angles to the action, and wraps up when tackling.

NEGATIVES: Undersized, has tackles broken, and struggles getting off blocks. Lacks top sideline-to-sideline range as well as speed to the flanks.

And finally, a couple of very well-done highlight videos on YouTube. Take note of Nakamura stopping No. 27 of Rutgers on a couple of occasions. That's Ravens second-round pick Ray Rice. Looks like Nakamura will see some familiar faces when he gets to his first minicamp.

Here's Nakamura's player page on Cincinnati's Web site.

And finally, a breakdown from The Sun:

2007 statistics: 85 tackles and four interceptions.

Strengths: Smart player who served as the defensive quarterback of the Bearcats. Led team to 10-win season. He's a sure tackler.

Weaknesses: Size. He might not be big enough to play safety in the NFL.