Ravens 2024 NFL Draft takeaways: Baltimore filled needs, but did it do enough for the O-line?

There have been plenty of drafts in which the highest guy on the Ravens board once they’re on the clock plays a position where the team doesn’t have a need.

That didn’t happen all too often over the past three days, Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta said Saturday evening after he put the finishing touches on a nine-player draft class by selecting six more players on Day 3.

“This year, we were patient, and the board, not in every single case, the best player was at a position of need,” DeCosta said. “We basically just started checking off boxes.”

The Ravens doubled down on arguably their two biggest needs, drafting two offensive linemen and two cornerbacks. They fulfilled another must by adding an edge rusher to their young outside linebacker rotation. They improved their depth at running back, wide receiver and safety. They even added a developmental quarterback.

“It was a very productive three days,” said DeCosta, who reiterated that he’s not done with the roster maneuvering.

For the most part, the draft went routinely for the Ravens, with the only real surprise coming when DeCosta, who loves to wheel-and-deal, didn’t make any trades.

“There were a lot of opportunities to make trades, but the players were more valuable to us than the trade,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said.

The picks

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Ravens NFL Draft picks 2024: Grades, fits and scouting reports

Best value pick

T.J. Tampa was Dane Brugler’s eighth-ranked cornerback and his 55th overall player. The Ravens selected him at No. 130 in the fourth round. Three rounds after the Ravens took Nate Wiggins, they doubled down on the cornerback position by selecting a player who was expected to be taken relatively early on Day 2.

Tampa wasn’t sure why he fell, saying only that the draft was unpredictable and he was excited to wind up in Baltimore. He doesn’t have high-end speed, and his pre-draft process was disjointed after he declined an invitation to the Senior Bowl and couldn’t work out at the NFL Scouting Combine because of a hamstring injury.

The Ravens, though, were happy to stop Tampa’s slide. They had considered taking him on Day 2 but opted against it because they already had selected Wiggins. Baltimore entered the draft with very little depth at outside corner beyond projected starters Marlon Humphrey and Brandon Stephens. The addition of Wiggins and Tampa changes that and gives first-year defensive coordinator Zach Orr some matchup options.

Most surprising pick

It wasn’t totally shocking that the Ravens drafted a quarterback. After Tyler Huntley signed with the Cleveland Browns in free agency, Lamar Jackson’s primary backup is 37-year-old journeyman Josh Johnson. The Ravens’ No. 3 quarterback was Malik Cunningham, and team officials have been noncommittal about whether they consider him a quarterback or a wide receiver. There was certainly room for another signal caller.

However, it was very surprising that Baltimore took a quarterback before it drafted a second offensive lineman. Devin Leary was Brugler’s ninth-ranked quarterback prospect. He played a ton of college football, starting 39 games. He can make every throw, showing nice touch on deep shots.

But Leary struggled with turnovers, throwing 28 interceptions in his college career and fumbling 25 times. He has struggled with his accuracy at times, too. Knowing that they could use another quarterback in the system, the Ravens asked their quarterbacks coach Tee Martin to study this year’s prospects and report back on who he liked. He gave high marks to Leary.

The new quarterback rule allowing teams to have an emergency option available for games encourages teams to carry three quarterbacks on their 53-man roster. Leary will get every opportunity to win the No. 3 quarterback job, and he’d have to be considered the favorite at this point over Cunningham.

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.

Still, this offensive line class was billed as one of the deepest in recent memory. It’s moderately surprising that the Ravens didn’t take another early- to mid-round swing on a guard to help in their offseason O-line rebuild. They did draft Nick Samac, who started at center for two years at Michigan State, in the seventh round.

Remaining needs

The Ravens could certainly use some depth in a few areas. Wide receiver is one of those spots. Inside linebacker is another. The Ravens also could use another body or two on the interior defensive line. We covered the guard situation above.

Harbaugh talked up Ar’Darius Washington on Saturday and the Ravens drafted Sanoussi Kane late in Round 7, but they do have a clear need for a veteran safety to play behind Kyle Hamilton and Marcus Williams. The Ravens love to move Hamilton around and use him in matchup situations, so a dependable third safety is a relatively important piece.

Post-draft outlook

The Ravens still have roster questions. DeCosta acknowledged as much after the draft. When 14 unrestricted free agents depart, you are going to have some potential roster shortcomings that a nine-player rookie class can’t change.

However, DeCosta did his best work last year late in the offseason and even during training camp, when he added veterans like Arthur Maulet, Ronald Darby and Clowney. He then signed Kyle Van Noy after Week 3 of the regular season.

He’ll need to hit on a couple of veterans again in the coming months. Still, every team has question marks in late April. The Ravens don’t have any gaping holes, and they still have one of the better rosters in football. With a few additional veteran signings, there’s no reason to think that the Ravens won’t be one of the handful of contenders in the AFC.

(Photo: Geoff Burke / USA Today)