Ravens Have No Concerns With Undersized Rookie CB
One of the traits that knocked Baltimore Ravens first-round cornerback Nate Wiggins in the pre-draft process was his size.
Wiggins stands 6-1 and weighs at about 180 pounds, which isn't a huge issue in college, but could be on the NFL level. However, the Ravens never saw that as a reason to not take him with the No. 30 overall pick.
"He's only 20 years old. I was a kinesiology major, and they say a full man doesn't stop growing until like 27 years old. He's got a lot of time to grow," defensive coordinator Zach Orr said. "We have a great strength staff, nutritionist and everything like that. On tape, I didn't see anything about him being undersized as anything that we critiqued. He flew up, set the edge in the run game, played physical with receivers at the line of scrimmage, came up, tackled, getting the ball off people, so he played like a Raven. We have no concerns about that at all."
Teams in the past have overlooked size, and sometimes it has come back to bite them. In the 2023 NFL Draft, the Washington Commanders selected Emmanuel Forbes in the first round after he set an NCAA record for the most pick-sixes in a career. However, he struggled in his rookie year as a 166-pound cornerback against stronger receivers. Forbes is working towards bulking up for the NFL game, but it comes with its own set of challenges.
Wiggins could experience a similar trajectory, but as Orr said, they like what they saw on tape and they figure the growth will take care of itself. Wiggins has certain traits in his game that are hard to teach, and that's why the Ravens made the decision to take him when they did.