Grades for every pick from Ravens 2024 NFL Draft class

Breaking down all nine of the Ravens selections and assigning letter grades.

The 2024 NFL Draft came and went and the Baltimore Ravens had themselves quite an impressive three days of work. General manager Eric DeCosta exhibited a lot of patience, didn’t make a single trade and the decision to stick and pick worked as well as he and the rest of the front office could’ve imagined as they had one great value pick after another fall to them with five of their first nine picks in total.

So just how good was each pick they made over the course of the draft from both a value and projected impact standpoint? Here are grades and analysis for every pick the Ravens made.

CB Nate Wiggins, Clemson

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Grade: A+

Analysis: At No. 30 overall in the first round, the Ravens were one of the many beneficiaries of the early run on offensive linemen and skill players as they had who many believe and proclaimed “the best pure cover corner” in the entire draft fall to them in a pleasantly surprising turn of events. Wiggins absolutely dominated his final two seasons in college especially in 2023 when the only pass of 20 or more yards he allowed was to one of his fellow rookies and new teammates. He has the potential to be a future shutdown corner at the next level but won’t have the pressure of having to prove it right away as a rookie because he’ll be playing alongside and rotation with one of the better corner tandems in the league in Baltimore with Marlon Humphrey and Brandon Stephens.

Wiggins will essentially assume the role veteran Ronald Darby served in last season as the Ravens’ No. 3 cornerback who regularly rotates with the starters and can fill in on a full-time basis in the event of an injury to either the three-time Pro Bowler or 2023 breakout stud. Humphrey played a similar role during his first two years in the league before emerging as an All-Pro in 2019. The Ravens could put Wiggins on a similar development plan but with Stephens heading into the final year of his deal, he will only have to wait half as long.

OT Roger Rosengarten, Washington

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Grade: A

Analysis: At No. 62 overall in the second round, the Ravens got one of the most ready-to-plug-and-play tackle prospects in this year’s class especially among the ones who weren’t taken on Day 1. Rosengarten was being viewed as a potential fringe first-rounder as the pre-draft process went on and for good reason. He is a technically sound pass blocker with the agility and athleticism to be a weapon in space as part of a convoy on screens and pulls. The former Huskie is a blindside protector by nature who didn’t surrender a single sack in over 1,000 pass-blocking snaps while in college, will compete for the starting right tackle spot as a rookie and could be the left tackle of the future with former All-Pro veteran Ronnie Stanley heading into the final year of his reworked contract.

OLB Adisa Isaac, Penn State

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Grade: A

Analysis: At No. 93 overall in the third round, the Ravens went back to the former Nittany Lions den to pick up another talented edge defender who can contribute right away as a situational pass rusher during his rookie season. While he came off the board in a range many top analysts predicted, it wouldn’t have been surprising in the slightest if had been picked in the mid to late second round but instead, he fell all the way into the Ravens’ lap late on Day 2. Isaac is a prospect whose tape shows off more of his impressive athleticism than his solid but not eye-popping testing numbers suggest especially in relation to two of his former college teammates in Chop Robinson who was taken in the first round and Odafe Oweh who is already on the Ravens roster who blew up their respective Combines.

Over the past decade and a half, the Ravens have had edge rushers taken after the first round who recorded four or more sacks as rookies playing in a rotational role and Isaac could very be poised to be next in line, joining the likes of Pernell McPhee, Za’Darius Smith and Matt Judon.

WR Devontez Walker, North Carolina

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Grade: A-

Analysis: At No. 113 overall in the fourth round, the Ravens picked up a dangerous vertical threat capable of making big plays in the passing game with both speed and strong contested catch ability. Walker would’ve easily been an early-to-mid Day 2 pick in most years but due to the incredible depth of the 2024 class, he just so happened to be there early in Day 3 as one of the best available prospects. He adds diversity and depth to a Ravens’ receiver room highlighted by a trio of former first-rounders in Zay Flowers, Rashod Bateman and Nelson Agholor but saw multi-time Pro Bowlers Odell Beckham Jr. and Devin Duvernay depart in free agency.

DeCosta compared Walker to retired Ravens wideout Torrey Smith who was a potent depth threat for the offense in the early 2010s out of Maryland and was key to the team’s Super Bowl run in 2012. The rookie speedster brings a lot of the same appealing attributes to the table although he is prone to the occasional concentration drop. An up-and-down performance at the Senior Bowl probably hurt his stock in the eyes of a lot of teams but he bounced back with an impressive display of athleticism at the Combine. Improving the deep passing game will be an emphasis for the Ravens this offseason and Walker has an opportunity to be a big part of the maturation process.

CB T.J. Tampa, Iowa State

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Grade: A+

Analysis: At No. 130 overall in the fourth round, the Ravens got perhaps one of the biggest steals of the entire draft in relation to not only where the consensus had him projected to go but what his talent shows on tape. He is a physical press-man corner with the length and athleticism the Ravens covet at the position. Many pundits believe he would hear his name called no later than Day 2 and some even speculated that he could be a surprise late first-round pick. However, his decision not to attend the Senior Bowl combined with his slower-than-expected 40-yard dash time of 4.58 attributed to his fall but he was yet another tremendous value nonetheless.

While some questioned his speed and explosiveness during the pre-draft process, his tape told an entirely different story. A prime example of both his long speed and relentless effort in Week 2 of his senior season in a rivalry game against Iowa. Tampa was clocked reaching a top speed of 21.3 miles per hour on a play where he caught Hawkeye running back Jaziun Patterson from behind after he ripped off what looked like a house call short of the goal line. The acceleration and tenacity he shows on plays such as that will serve him well on special teams at the next level as well as on defense if an injury were to occur to one of the top three corners on the depth chart in his rookie year and beyond 2024.

RB Rasheen Ali, Marshall

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Grade: B+

Analysis: At No. 165 overall in the fifth round, the Ravens added another dynamic weapon to round out their backfield and more depth. Ali will complement four-time Pro Bowl starter Derrick Henry and help offset the absence of 2023 undrafted gem Keaton Mitchell who will likely miss some time to begin the 2024 season after tearing his ACL this past December. In college, he showcased an explosive playmaking ability both as a runner and receiver out of the backfield who could also contribute in special teams as a kick returner if needed especially with the new rules making it more like a traditional run play. A bicep injury he suffered at the Senior Bowl forced him to sit out the rest of the week and prevented him from participating in the Combine or his Pro Day which may have caused him to fall a round later than he might have gone had been able to boost his stock with some impressive testing numbers.

QB Devin Leary, Kentucky

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Grade: C

Analysis: At No. 218 overall in the sixth round, the Ravens took a shot on a developmental prospect they hope can develop into the primary backup to Jackson in time. Leary was a personal favorite of quarterback coach Tee Martin who he pounded the table for in the war room after being very impressed by him during an interview at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine. His physical tools and intangibles include having a very strong arm, supreme confidence in his ability to spin it with the best of them and leadership as he was a team captain at two different programs. He struggled with turnovers in a pro-style offense last year in his lone season with the Wildcats but still managed to throw 25 touchdowns in his first year back from a right pectoral injury and should be a fun watch in the preseason as he learns and develops on the job.

IOL Nick Samac, Michigan State

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Grade: B

Analysis: At the No. 228 overall in the seventh round, the Ravens got an experienced interior offensive lineman who started 32 games at center in college and is an ideal backup for 2023 Pro Bowler Tyler Linderbaum. He is a road grader in the run game with good hand placement who is agile and nimble in space on pulls and screens, making him a great fit for Monken’s scheme. A leg injury he suffered late in his final college season prevented him from participating in the pre-drat process outside of interviews so he wasn’t able to boost his stock and fell to late Day 3 where DeCosta scooped him up. Although he played center exclusively in college, the Ravens plan to cross-train him at guard, a position he hasn’t played since high school but has familiarity with.

DB Sanoussi Kane, Purdue

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Grade: C

Analysis: At No. 250 overall in the seventh round, the Ravens took a swing on a prospect with high character as a former team captain who is a strong tackler and will compete to be a core special teams contributor as a rookie. As a defender, he offers upside as a dime linebacker in sub packages where he plays near the line of scrimmage to provide run support and covers whatever comes underneath in zone coverage or if a tight end or running back goes out for a route in man coverage.

Time will tell if he is ready to do more than play special teams or even makes the team out of training camp. The last Big-Ten conference safety they drafted was Geno Stone in 2020 who worked his way up through special teams into a prominent role of defense and just cashed in free agency this offseason after leading the AFC in interceptions in 2023.