Ravens stick to script and come away with solid draft class
Mike Preston, The Baltimore Sun
The Ravens might have a speedy outside threat in fourth-round selection Devontez Walker, a wide receiver from North Carolina. Other than adding more interior linemen on both sides of the ball, which could come later in free agency, the Ravens’ draft was solid.
The Ravens went into the draft wanting to add offensive linemen, especially tackles, but nine came off the board before the team’s No. 30 overall selection in the first round. The Ravens then chose Wiggins, who was generally considered the No. 2 cover corner in college football last season behind Toledo’s Quinyon Mitchell, who went to the Philadelphia Eagles at No. 22.
It was a good move. Offensively, the Ravens can’t match quarterbacks such as the Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes, Buffalo Bills’ Josh Allen or maybe even the Houston Texans’ C.J. Stroud in the postseason, but they can at least slow them down, which is exactly what the Kansas City Chiefs did to the Ravens in the AFC championship game with cornerbacks Trent McDuffie and L’Jarius Sneed.
With Brandon Stephens on the outside, Wiggins on the other side and Marlon Humphrey playing over the slot, the Ravens should have good nickel and dime packages.
Ravens 2024 NFL Draft takeaways: Baltimore filled needs, but did it do enough for the O-line?
Jeff Zrebiec, The Athletic
Biggest question mark
Is Rosengarten good enough to be a plug-and-play right tackle? Because if the answer is no, it will be plenty fair to question whether DeCosta did enough to improve the offensive line in this draft. The Ravens lost their two starting guards, Kevin Zeitler and John Simpson, in free agency. They traded starting right tackle Morgan Moses to the New York Jets. They did sign versatile veteran lineman Josh Jones, but they were mostly pointing to this draft as the path to restocking their offensive line.
Rosengarten was a solid performer at Washington, where he protected Michael Penix Jr.’s blind side the past two years and did not allow a sack. He was a player the Ravens earmarked as a guy they wanted with their second-round pick, and Harbaugh made clear that Rosengarten will be in the mix for the starting right tackle job. His primary competition figures to be Jones and Daniel Faalele, a 2022 fourth-round pick. Rosengarten is probably the favorite. The top tackles in the draft were always going to be long gone by the time the Ravens were on the clock, so Rosengarten was a nice consolation prize.
The Ravens, however, didn’t add an obvious contender for a starting guard job. It’s not that their cupboard was bare. The list of internal starting guard candidates includes recent draft picks Ben Cleveland, Andrew Vorhees and Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu. Jones can play guard, too, as can Patrick Mekari, although he’s better suited for a swing tackle role.
Top Takeaways From Ravens’ 2024 Draft
Ryan Mink, BaltimoreRavens.com
Always a value hunter, DeCosta got a lot of it this year.
DeCosta is probably an excellent bargain shopper because the man is always looking for value. This year, he got it in a variety of ways.
Arguably the top cornerback in the class, Wiggins dropped to 30 because there was a historic run of 14 straight offensive players taken to start the draft. That pushed premier defenders down the line, where the Ravens capitalized.
In any other draft class that wasn’t as loaded at offensive tackle, Rosengarten could have easily been a first-round pick. But the sheer numbers of tackles pushed him to the late second.
Third-round pass rusher Adisa Isaac had more college sack production than Penn State teammate and Dolphins first-round pick Chop Robinson, but Robinson ran the 40-yard dash in 4.48 seconds compared to Isaac’s 4.74. By the way, Isaac’s 20-yard split of 2.73 seconds was just .03 seconds slower than the time posted by Laiatu Latu, the first defensive player off the board.
Fourth-round receiver Devontez Walker’s NCAA eligibility kerfuffle damaged his production and probably his draft stock but is now in the rear-view mirror. Tampa was another case of great tape, slow 40 time.
Debrief: 32 thoughts for 32 teams after the 2024 NFL Draft
Gregg Rosenthal, NFL.com
It’s foolish to ever question the Ravens’ team-building process. That said, they had a lot of needs that couldn’t be met with one draft. Their top two picks, cornerback Nate Wiggins (No. 30 overall) and tackle Roger Rosengarten (No. 62), probably need to play right away because of depth-chart shortcomings. There’s room for a few of the Ravens’ patented summertime free agency signings to contribute immediately along the defensive line, at linebacker and possibly at wideout.
What to expect from 2024 Ravens draft picks this season and beyond
Luke Jones, Baltimore Positive
OLB Adisa Isaac
Drafted: Third round (93rd overall) out of Penn State
2024 projected role: Considering the lack of proven options behind Kyle Van Noy and Odafe Oweh, the race for rotation snaps is wide open for a 6-foot-4, 253-pound edge rusher who played extensively over four seasons in the Big Ten and collected 7 1/2 sacks last season.
Long-term outlook: Penn State teammate Chop Robinson has a higher ceiling and was taken in the first round by Miami, but Isaac has the traits to become a starting edge defender, especially if he can add strength while maintaining his explosiveness. Outside linebacker has been an annual need since the departure of Terrell Suggs, and Isaac has the ability to be an impact contributor over the next four years.
C Nick Samac
Drafted: Seventh round (228th overall) out of Michigan State
2024 projected role: With Sam Mustipher signing with Denver earlier this month, the Ravens need a backup to Pro Bowl center Tyler Linderbaum, but the versatile Patrick Mekari also provides a safety net at that position if Samac isn’t ready for the role.
Long-term outlook: An athletic three-year starter for the Spartans who suffered a broken fibula late last season, Samac looks like a good fit for Monken’s system and would be a cheap backup to Linderbaum, who is eligible for a contract extension as early as next offseason. A seventh-round pick is far from a lock to make the 53-man roster, but Samac’s pedigree made him a solid value this late in the draft.
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