Predicting the Ravens 2025 NFL Draft
The 2025 NFL Draft is quickly approaching, taking place in Green Bay, Wisconsin on April 24-26. The draft consistently brings an influx of new faces that change the way the NFL ecosystem operates. Hype surrounds players like Paxton Lynch, Mitchell Trubisky, Josh Rosen, and the Jets version of Sam Darnold. Those players are then outshined by players ranked lower by scouts taken picks or even rounds later, like Dak Prescott, Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, and Lamar Jackson. There is no doubt there will be some future Pro Bowlers, future picks that teams wish they never made, and day-three draftees that become instant stars, who will later become the topic of redraft articles for years to come.
This year, the Baltimore Ravens have a league-high 11 total picks in the 2025 NFL draft, including the 27th pick in the first round and a league-high four compensatory picks awarded for the departures of Patrick Queen, Geno Stone, John Simpson, and Kevin Zeitler during the 2023 offseason. The Ravens may opt to trade some of the later selections or future picks to move up in the draft, but I believe Eric DeCosta and John Harbaugh have their eyes set on a few sleepers who could prove their worth when it comes to training camp and preseason. For the 2026 NFL Draft, the Ravens will assuredly receive more compensatory picks for losing Brandon Stephens and Patrick Mekari. In the meantime, the Ravens look to upgrade three or four key positions that have been targeted over the last five drafts but remain a problem when it comes to depth and on-field play.
Offensive Line
The Raven's offensive line has always been a need when it comes to the offseason. Injuries are inevitable and depth is a necessity for a position whose sole responsibilities are protecting Lamar Jackson and creating running lanes for Derrick Henry. Since 2020, the Ravens have drafted at least one interior offensive lineman in every draft and an offensive tackle in all but two drafts. Most notably, Tyler Linderbaum in the first round of 2022, Roger Rosengarten in the second round of 2024, and Andrew Vorhees in the seventh round of 2023, all who are believed to be starters this upcoming season. Since the Ravens may only be looking for depth on their offensive front five, a day two or three picks may be more likely rather than a lineman picked at 27.
Some players that I believe the Ravens could take in either the first or second round are interior lineman Tyler Booker from Alabama or Donovan Jackson from Ohio State. Booker played 38 games for the post-Nick Saban era Alabama Crimson Tide with high upside. Donovan Jackson is listed as a guard but played some left tackle in 2024, leading the Buckeyes to a National Championship. This versatility could prove fruitful for offensive line depth or competition between Vorhees and Daniel Faalele. Former Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year, Aireontae Ersery of Minnesota may be available later in the second into the third round to provide outside depth behind Ronnie Stanley and Rosengarten. When talking about day three options, it gets a little dicey because one truly does not know how one player may fit into a scheme devised in the front office, but another Minnesota Golden Gopher could be drafted to the Ravens in guard Tyler Cooper, who has been listed as a reliable pass blocker with long arms and the strength to be a successful pull blocker in the running game.
Cornerback / Safety
The Raven's secondary was a problem in the first half of the season. Despite turning the intensity up after a primetime shootout versus the Bengals, they ranked top two in all run defense categories but found themselves on the opposite side of the rankings in terms of passing defense. Former Raven, Brandon Stephens, who was recently signed by the Jets, ranked 174th out of 222 cornerbacks by PFF in pass coverage and 153rd overall, allowing the fifth most receptions by a cornerback with 65. Additionally, Marcus Williams and Eddie Jackson were benched for poor performance for Ar’Darius Washington, slightly improving the defense. Granted, the Ravens have All-Pros in Kyle Hamilton, Marlon Humphrey, and a potential star with 2024 first-rounder Nate Wiggins, but in a division with Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase, it may not be enough. In the five-year sample I am using from the 2020-2024 drafts, the Ravens have selected a combined 10 defensive backs, selecting a corner in all but one draft and a safety in all but two.
Two safeties the Ravens could take with the 27th pick or pick number 59 if they are available, are Nick Emmanwori from South Carolina and Malaki Starks from Georgia. Emmanwori ran a 4.38 40-yard dash compared to Starks 4.5, but both could easily combine with Kyle Hamilton to create a problematic duo anywhere on the field. According to Mel Kiper, Emmanwori is “not Kyle Hamilton, but he brings that kind of size and that unique physical trait,” but still prefers the fit of Starks for Baltimore. If the Ravens wait on the safety position, Notre Dame’s Xavier Watts could be a great fit as he had 13 interceptions in two seasons and played with Hamilton, potentially aiding the transition given the previous chemistry.
The Ravens have not drafted the same position with their top pick since the 1998-1999 drafts, so it may be more likely to see a late-round cornerback being drafted. As the Ravens look for versatility in any position they draft, cornerback is no exception. Humphrey excelled in both outside and nickel coverages. This leads me to believe the Ravens could take a similar style corner in Kansas State’s Jacob Parrish. Parrish is smaller than Humphrey but did run a 4.38 40-yard dash and can quickly break on single-move routes. In my opinion, an opposite and more realistic pick compared to Parrish is Iowa State cornerback Darien Porter. Now in a division with D.K. Metcalf, Ja’Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins, I believe the Ravens need a taller corner with a longer wingspan to keep track of the deeper routes when Hamilton, Washington, or another safety is otherwise preoccupied elsewhere on the field.
Edge Rusher
Over the past five seasons, the Ravens have signed and or drafted edge rushers, most notably signing Kyle Van Noy and Jadeveon Clowney or drafting Odafe Oweh, David Ojabo, or Adisa Isaac. Clowney was on a one-year deal in 2023, Kyle Van Noy is entering his age 34 season, Ojabo and Isaac have battled injuries throughout their careers, but Oweh hit a career-high 10 sacks in 2024. Edge rusher is another position where the Ravens want versatility and depth because fatigue and injuries are inevitable factors in any sport. The Ravens may want to target an edge rusher with the 27th pick as it is their biggest hole on the team, the future of their current rushers is uncertain due to retirement and the salary cap problems, and how the pass rush directly impacts the opponents passing game which was detrimental to the Ravens success for most of last season.
Penn State pass rusher Abdul Carter won’t be available, since he is projected to be taken early in the first round, but the Ravens have a realistic chance of landing three different edge rushers in James Pearce Jr. from Tennessee, Shemar Stewart from Texas A&M, or Mykel Williams from Georgia. Pearce’s draft stock fell after a downtick in sacks, from leading the SEC in 2023 with 10 sacks to 10th in 2024 with seven sacks for the Vols. Pearce did not do the 20-yard shuttle or 3-cone-drill but is noted to have the ability to explode on the snap and quickly beat tight ends in pass protection. Shemar Stewart did not have the college stats to prove his worth of being a first-round pick, but NFL Analyst Lance Zierlein believes his “rare combination of size, length and explosiveness,” combined with “untapped upside” can be beneficial for the Ravens. Keep in mind that Oweh recorded seven sacks in three years and zero sacks in his last season at Penn State and the Ravens still took him so looking at four career sacks does not seem so far-fetched. Mykel Williams has been frequently mocked to go to Baltimore, but like all prospects, scouts have pin-pointed some weaknesses that might be available to be fixed. If Williams can add some upper body strength and the Ravens coaches can alter how Williams approaches his rush style, he could be a pivotal addition and be the missing piece for the Ravens, assuming other positional needs are met and players are developed efficiently.
Other Positions
Linebacker, Wide Receiver, and Defensive Tackle are also reasonable positions to draft in some of the later rounds as no one can have enough of these rotational depth pieces on their team. I’m not claiming Patrick Queen was a huge loss to the Ravens, but Ravens head coach John Harbaugh admitted 2023 second-round LB Trenton Simpson was not quite ready to replace Queen in 2024. However, he believes Simpson will be ready for a starting role next to Roquan Smith in 2025 but is also open to inviting competition if there is a player of value on day two or three. The same applies to wide receiver and defensive tackle. Those positions are in their way particularly fatiguing, but with departures from WR Nelson Agholor, Brent Urban, and retired defensive lineman Michael Pierce, it is a positional hole that needs to be filled. I would not be surprised if the Ravens use multiple picks on these three positions in addition to adding a kicker in the last two rounds or immediately after the draft amid the down season and allegations against Justin Tucker.
