OWINGS MILLS — Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta believes in taking the best player available when he makes a selection in the NFL draft.
This year, while following that strategy, the Ravens satisfied various areas of need on the roster.
“I think that this was one year that the board – you’ll often hear me say, ‘Oh man, we had a chance; we missed out on some guys,’ but this year, we were patient,” DeCosta said. “And the board – more often than not, not in every single case – but the best player was at a position of need. So, we basically started just checking off boxes, working our way down through each pick. We were basically able to just cross them off, cross them off, cross them off with a really good player. So, from that standpoint, I think it was good.”
The Ravens 2024 draft class consisted of:
- Round 1, Pick 30: Cornerback Nate Wiggins, Clemson
- Round 2, Pick 62: Offensive tackle Roger Rosengarten, Washington
- Round 3, Pick 93: Outside linebacker Adisa Isaac, Penn State
- Round 4, Pick 113: Wide receiver Devontez Walker, North Carolina
- Round 4, Pick 130: Cornerback T.J. Tampa, Iowa State
- Round 5, Pick 165: Running back Rasheen Ali, Marshall
- Round 6, Pick 218: Quarterback Devin Leary, Kentucky
- Round 7, Pick 228: Center Nick Samac, Michigan State
- Round 7, Pick 250: Safety Sanoussi Kane, Purdue
The Ravens’ biggest needs entering the draft, which ran from Thursday through Saturday, were offensive tackles, defensive backs, wide receivers and edge rushers. DeCosta satisfied all of those positions in the early part of the draft.
Wiggins and Rosengarten have an opportunity to start immediately at cornerback and right tackle, respectively. Tampa can also play his way into the rotation at cornerback.
The Ravens also added valuable depth with Walker, Ali, Samac, and Kane. Leary is a developmental player at quarterback, but the DeCosta contends he has a huge upside.
The Ravens also will sign about 10 to 15 undrafted players over the next week.
“I think the coaches and the scouts – we did a good job communicating,” DeCosta said. “One of the things that we have is a dialogue throughout the draft – this guy or that guy, what do we think and how does this guy fit? You might have two players at different positions, and they’re graded the same. And, you’re trying to figure out, how do you split hairs between these two players, and you do it with talking to your coaches.
“You do it looking at the analytics, but you also do it looking at the players that you might get in the next round or moving back. And what does that pool of players look like at those positions? This year, I think it worked out really well.”