Breaking down Ravens' 2025 NFL draft class: Best pick, head-scratching pick, best value
Breaking down Ravens' 2025 NFL draft class: Best pick, head-scratching pick, best value We're taking a closer look at the Baltimore Ravens' 2025 NFL draft class with the best pick, sleeper, head-scratching pick, and more.
The Baltimore Ravens added 11 draft picks to their roster in this year's NFL draft, landing Malaki Starks near the end of Round 1 to cap things off. Overall, the consensus for Eric DeCosta centered on draft value and landing prospects who can develop into starters regardless of the round in which they were selected.
Of course, we won't know the actual impact of this year's class until these players hit the field and have time to develop, but on paper, it does look like DeCosta maintained and created another Super Bowl window.
With the rookie minicamp having concluded, we're looking at this 2025 class, where we highlight the best pick, sleeper, head-scratching pick, and more.
Best pick - Malaki Starks
Starks played three seasons for the Bulldogs, recording 197 total tackles, 17 pass deflections, and six interceptions in his collegiate career. In the 2024 season, he had 77 total tackles, four for loss, and one interception. He was an All-American in 2023.
Best value - Mike Green
A projected top 20 pick slid down the board to Round 2, pick 59. Rookie outside linebacker Mike Green called it a 'blessing in disguise' that he ended up with the Baltimore Ravens, an organization with a rich defensive tradition. Green, who led the FBS last year with 17 sacks to go along with 23 tackles for loss while starring for Marshall, was widely considered one of the top pass rushers in the draft.
Sleeper pick - LaJohntay Wester
While he could struggle to earn snaps on offense, the Ravens addressed their most under-the-radar need in return specialist LaJohntay Wester. The Ravens struggled in punt return last season, ranking 16th with a 9.7-yard average and using four different players. Wester is a speedy returner who averaged 12.2 yards on punts last season at Colorado, including a 76-yard touchdown. At the Shrine Bowl, his acceleration was clocked at 6.2 yards per second squared, making him the second-fastest on offense since the Shrine Bowl partnered with Zebra Sports. Wester has a connection with Baltimore, playing under Ravens running back coach Willie Taggart at Florida Atlantic.
Head-scratching pick -Carson Vinson
Baltimore selected offensive tackle Carson Vinson out of Alabama A&M in the fifth round, after they had already selected another developmental offensive lineman in Emery Jones Jr. Offensive line depth has been a concern, and the Ravens went with Vinson, who played at the FCS level and competed against lesser competition. His Senior Bowl tape is solid, but Baltiomre could have potentially added another defender.
position group to watch - Kicker
Head coach John Harbaugh said the call at kicker will be 'football decision', but The Ravens' brass has been adamant in recent months in saying they'd follow the lead of the NFL's investigation before deciding on the future of kicker Justin Tucker, who 16 Baltimore-area massage therapists have accused of inappropriate sexual conduct as part of an investigation by The Baltimore Banner.
Baltimore used a sixth-round pick on Arizona's Tyler Loop, the first kicker drafted in the organization's 30-year history.
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