How Ravens Free Agency Moves Impact NFL Draft Strategy

The Baltimore Ravens addressed some of their top offseason needs while others still remain.

Feb 28, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Georgia defensive back Malaki Starks (DB50) participates in drills during the 2025 NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

When it comes to free agency each year, the Baltimore Ravens are rarely big spenders when it comes to paying other teams' free agents, aside from giving out a market-rate deal to the occasional veteran safety.

They often elect to pay the big bucks to their homegrown talents and address their positions of need with salary cap casualties or with veteran players whose average annual salaries aren't high enough to compromise the compensatory pick formula.

This tried and true method frees them up to stick with taking the 'best player available' core philosophy when it comes to their approach to the draft.

General manager Eric DeCosta has made several savvy moves since the new league year began that addressed some of the Ravens' most pressing needs and even some that were flying under the radar. Here are some ways in which their additions, retentions and losses have potentially shifted how they will prioritize other positions early and at different points in the 2025 NFL Draft late next month.

Offensive line doesn't need to be addressed early anymore

Prior to the re-signing of two-time Pro Bowl veteran left tackle Ronnie Stanley, almost every mock draft had the Ravens using their first-round pick to find his potential replacement. Now that he's locked up for the foreseeable future, it's highly unlikely that they'll take a prospect at the position with their top overall pick with more pressing needs elsewhere.

They still need to add depth at the position after losing both of their veteran primary backups in free agency when Patrick Mekari signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Josh Jones joined the Seattle Seahawks. However, when it comes to swing tackles, the Ravens have preferred to have a more experienced player to call upon to serve that role which they can still do. It's not a contingency they want a rookie to be which means the odds of them spending a high draft pick on it are low.

Mekari started every game for the Ravens last year including the playoffs with all but the first three being at left guard. While his departure opens up one starting spot on the offensive line, they still have 2023 seventh-rounder Andrew Vorhees who opened the season as the starter at that spot before losing it due to injury and not underperformance. The team also re-signed 2021 third-rounder Ben Cleveland in a somewhat surprising move to add more competition and at least provide more depth at all three interior spots.

The Ravens also have a rich history of finding quality starting caliber guards in the middle rounds of the draft which could very well end up being their strategy this year. If they do want to target an offensive lineman as early as the first or second round, two prospects to monitor are Ohio State's Donovan Jackson and Arizona's Jonah Savaiinaea. Both players have experience playing tackle but project best at guard at the next level which would address both needs for the Ravens.

Securing secondary depth is a top priority

A couple of key position groups the Ravens have yet to make a move in free agency to bring in reinforcements are at safety and cornerback. Two-year starting cornerback Brandon Stephens signed with the New York Jets and they released veteran free safety Marcus Williams in a move that was expected for months after he was a healthy scratch for the second half of the season.

Finding complementary talents at both spots isn't just essential for depth but also to maximize the high-profile versatile playmakers already on the roster, two-time Pro Bowl safety Kyle Hamilton and four-time Pro Bowl cornerback Marlon Humphrey. Both are former first-rounders who can play in the slot and be incredibly disruptive from anywhere on the field.

In a recent interview on 'The Lounge' podcast, Ravens defensive coordinator Zach Orrspoke about how valuable adding more players at both spots who are dynamic can allow others to do the same and help the defense as a whole thrive.

“I think a third safety and a third corner is real valuable positions,” Orr said. “Especially in our system just from the standpoint that it allows our guys to move around freely and allows them to be able to move around based on the opponent that we’re playing.”

Even though the Ravens took a cornerback in the first round last year when they selected former Clemson standout Nate Wiggins, it could very well be a position they take with their top overall pick for the second year in a row. Getting one who can also play nickel would give the Ravens the ability to put their top two corners on the top outside wide receivers and still have the slot covered or have Humphrey follow the No. 1 inside. In an AFC North that features a pair of opposing dynamic wideout duos in Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins in Cincinnati and D.K. Metcalf and George Pickens in Pittsburgh, the Ravens need to be as strong at corner as they can get.

Defensive tackle needs to be addressed multiple times

The Ravens are losing veteran Michael Pierce to retirement and 2022 third-rounder Travis Jones is entering the final year of his rookie contract which means they need to replenish their ranks for the both present and future. One of the biggest takeaways from the Philadelphia Eagles' throttling of the Kansas Chiefs in the Super Bowl last month was how dominant and deep the eventual champions were in the trenches on defense both on the edge but especially up the middle.

Luckily for the Ravens, this is the perfect year to need to come out of the draft with multiple interior defensive linemen who can contribute right away and eventually develop into studs, if not stars. A potential first-round target could be Oregon's Derrick Harmon or Ole Miss' Walter Nolan. They could wait until the second round to take Toledo's Darius Alexander and double down at the position early on Day 3 with Maryland's Jordan Phillips.

While Pierce wasn't an elite pass rusher, he was more impactful and disruptive in that expect of the game than box scores can quantify or that he was given credit for. He got consistent push up the middle and regularly ate up multiple players to set others up for success. Where he shined brightest was against the run where he was a key cog in the Ravens fielding the top rush defense in 2024. Finding a rookie or two who can help Jones fill that void is vital to carrying on that dominance.

Wide receiver is no longer a glaring need

The Ravens entered the offseason needing to upgrade their No. 3 spot on the depth chart behind the ascending young duo of Zay Flowers and Rashod Bateman as well as add more size at the position. By signing five-time Pro Bowl veteran DeAndre Hopkins, they not only checked both boxes but managed to do so for a great bargain with a one-year deal worth up to $6 million.

This year's incoming class of rookies isn't viewed as being deep at receiver which makes adding a veteran of Hopkins proven pedigree is all the more a great move by DeCosta. They also brought back 2021 fourth-rounder Tylan Wallace who is a special teams ace and has made both explosive and clutch plays with his limited offensive opportunities.

The Ravens still have 2024 fourth-rounder Devontez Walker who flashed as a rookie last year and is a young player they would like to see more of in year two. While adding another receiver who can come and contribute on offense isn't as pressing as it was before the Hopkins signing, they could still target one fairly early or in the middle round who can add value on special teams as a returner. It was one of many aspects in the third phase of the game where the Ravens lacked consistency last year and adding a prospect such as Iowa State's Jaylin Noel or Virginia Tech's Jaylin Lane would address the issue with an explosive option.

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