Ravens CB Nate Wiggins had a strong rookie season. Now, he's learning to be a pro

New York Times

a day ago

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Baltimore Ravens secondary coach Chuck Pagano didn't wait for the play to officially end. As cornerback Nate Wiggins headed upfield, setting up his blocks along the way, following an interception of an overthrown pass during Friday's organized team activity, Pagano broke out the celebratory dance moves on the sideline.
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The 64-year-old coach shuffled up and down and waved his right arm in the air as if he were riding an imaginary horse. It doesn't take much to get Pagano going, but the sight of Wiggins securing the football and using his speed to race toward the end zone was enough to get anybody associated with the Ravens excited.
Wiggins, a first-round pick in 2024, had a strong rookie season. He played in all but two games, broke up 13 passes and held quarterbacks to a 66.7 passer rating when they targeted him. Wiggins allowed just 31 receptions on 62 targets, forced a key fumble in Dallas and had a pick six in the Week 18 regular-season finale against the Cleveland Browns.
Yet, it was hard for Ravens coaches this offseason not to think about how much better Wiggins could get when he became a little stronger and had a better grasp of the fundamentals of the cornerback position and how offenses were attacking him.
'Last year, he was just running like a chicken with his head cut off, trying to figure out what to do,' Ravens defensive coordinator Zach Orr said last week. 'Now, he understands the system. He understands the defense. He's been in the league for a year, so he understands formations from offenses. Now, he can really just hone in on his technique. Man, that guy right there, he takes his technique to another level on a consistent basis. The sky's the limit for him.'
Wiggins, who had an interception and a pass breakup in the Ravens' last OTA on Friday, is off to a solid start this offseason. He's added 10 pounds after prioritizing getting bigger and stronger. Possessing a better understanding of the position, he's playing with more decisiveness and confidence. And he no longer has to wonder about his role on a week-to-week basis.
The Ravens, influenced partly by health issues for Wiggins in the first half of the season, somewhat eased the rookie in. He played more than 75 percent of the team's defensive snaps just twice over Baltimore's first 10 games. But those days are over. He'll enter the 2025 season as a starting outside corner and one of the Ravens' core defenders. He says he's ready for that.
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'Last season, I didn't feel like I was really a pro yet,' Wiggins said Friday. 'Now, I'm knowing how to be a pro. I feel like now it's going to pay off.'
The Ravens lost some key pieces from last year's defense, which started agonizingly slow but turned things around and was playing at a high level by season's end.
Nose tackle Michael Pierce retired. Starting cornerback Brandon Stephens departed to the New York Jets in free agency. Malik Harrison and Chris Board, part of the linebacker rotation, signed elsewhere. Baltimore's cornerback depth thinned out with veterans Tre'Davious White and Arthur Maulet not returning. Safety Ar'Darius Washington, whose ascension into the starting lineup was a catalyst for the defensive turnaround, tore his Achilles during a May workout and will miss most, if not all, of the 2025 season.
Meanwhile, Baltimore general manager Eric DeCosta's two most prominent veteran defensive additions were Chidobe Awuzie, who will likely compete for the No. 3 or 4 cornerback role, and John Jenkins, a rotational defensive lineman. If the Ravens are going to build off of where last year's defense finished, they'll be relying heavily on the development of their young players, and that includes members of the team's rookie class.
That means third-year pro Trenton Simpson, who is poised to reclaim his starting inside linebacker spot alongside Roquan Smith; first-round safety Malaki Starks, who will almost certainly be a day one starter; and young edge rushers Mike Green and Adisa Isaac, Day 2 selections over the past two drafts who will be counted on to add some pass-rushing juice. That also means Wiggins, who team officials believe has star potential if he stays healthy and learns the nuances of the cornerback position.
More takeaways, like the one in Friday's practice, would help, too. A recent guest on 'The Lounge' podcast, Wiggins told the team website that one of his goals is to create 10-plus turnovers (interceptions or forced fumbles) in 2025. He had two last year.
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'I expect him to be locked in and focused on the little things,' Ravens coach John Harbaugh said Friday. 'Raindrops make oceans, man. Lock in on every little detail to be great, and that's what he's focusing on.'
When Wiggins entered the league after a strong final season at Clemson, there was little doubt that he could run with NFL receivers. He clocked a blistering 4.28 in the 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine. Only Kansas City Chiefs first-round wide receiver Xavier Worthy (4.21) beat that time.
The concerns were over whether Wiggins, who weighed just 173 pounds at the combine, would hold up physically, particularly against bigger receivers, and also against running backs had he needed to make a tackle on the outside. Wiggins held his own physically as a rookie, but he acknowledged that he didn't feel like he was able to protect himself as well as needed. That, in his mind, led to some of the physical issues that he played through for much of last year.
'Injury wasn't my big thing last year, (but) just hitting the ground,' Wiggins said. 'With my shoulders hitting the ground, the body couldn't absorb the contact. So it was really just getting my body (ready to) take the contact.'
Wiggins said he has a really fast metabolism and has always struggled to put on weight. He loaded up on steak, mashed potatoes and proteins this offseason to add 10 pounds and get up to 185. It's a start for a player whose speed remains his biggest attribute.
Now, the Ravens would like to see Wiggins utilize his increased strength.
'I thought Nate did a great job going to work this offseason, putting weight on,' Orr said. 'That's a testament to him and the strength coaches coming up with a great plan. Obviously, he followed it. The weight is real, so that's good to see, but what I see him focusing on now, he's more locked in on his fundamentals and technique on a more consistent basis.'