OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- Cornerback Maurice Canady essentially shrugged when he was drafted in the sixth round.

Being the 29th cornerback taken in this year's draft -- and one spot ahead of a long-snapper -- seemed fitting considering how his football life has played out so far.

"I was a two-star [recruit], and I started my first day at Virginia," Canady said. "Proving myself is just another task to check off my list."

It's a little different situation. When he arrived at Virginia, he was a lightly recruited wide receiver out of Richmond who made the switch to cornerback.

Canady comes to the Baltimore Ravens with the look of an NFL defender. He has the size that teams want at that position (6 feet 1). He has the experience with 33 starts. And he has the long arms needed to break up passes.

Where he really showed up for the Ravens was at the Senior Bowl in January. For a player whose physicality has been questioned, he displayed aggressiveness in press coverage.

"He's shown the ability to be a really, really good corner in college," assistant general manager Eric DeCosta said. "It was very bold to take a corner in the sixth round. We had just taken one in the fourth round (Temple's Tavon Young). But we were looking for the best available player. When we were looking at our board, he was clearly the best guy at the time of the pick."

Over the past two seasons, Canady allowed 10 touchdowns and gave up more than 1,000 receiving yards -- 529 of which have come after the catch, according to Pro Football Focus. He graded out as No. 122 out of 142 cornerbacks.

But Canady's traits were too good for the Ravens to pass up, especially for a team with a need at that position. Entering the draft, Baltimore's top four cornerbacks were Jimmy Smith, Shareece Wright, Kyle Arrington and Will Davis.

Smith recently had a foot procedure. Wright is on his third team in three years. Arrington was benched as the team's nickelback last season. And Davis has torn an anterior cruciate ligament in each of the past two seasons.

"I actually looked at the depth chart, and I saw that there is possibility I can make this team as a corner," Canady said.

Since 2011, the Ravens have drafted three cornerbacks in the fifth round or later. None of them have panned out: Chykie Brown (2011), Asa Jackson (2012) and Marc Anthony (2013).

But Canady doesn't see the odds stacked against him. It's one of the reasons he looked up to Richard Sherman, who has gone from a fifth-round pick to a three-time first-team All-Pro.

"It's a lot of guys that went later or undrafted," Canady said. "That just adds fuel to the fire."