2025 NFL Draft Grades: Baltimore Ravens

Best Pick: Third-round tackle Emery Jones was on my Better-Than team as a player who could move inside to guard. The Ravens have had success doing that with players over the years, and Jones will be no different.

Worst Pick: Second-round pick Mike Green has pass-rush skills, but there are character concerns. The Ravens said they felt comfortable with his background, so they made the pick. But it's something to watch going forward. He certainly fills a need.

The Skinny: The Ravens are one of those teams that always seem to draft well. General manager Eric DeCosta does a great job of landing players who fit what they want. This draft was no different. First-round safety Malaki Starks adds a rangy player to the defense and I love Jones in the third and receiver LaJohntay Wester in the sixth. If Green hits, it's a heck of a draft.

Top needs entering the draft: Edge rusher, cornerback, safety, guard and kicker

I've referred to this stat many times over the past few months, but the Ravens allowed 58 passing plays of 20 or more yards last season, third most in the NFL. They gave up seven more over two playoff games. Malaki Starks will help there. Next to Kyle Hamilton at safety, he has the closing speed to arrive as the ball does and either break up the pass or immediately wrap up the receiver. Starks also spent a lot of time at slot corner at Georgia, so Baltimore can use that versatility to its advantage.

With 11 picks -- tied for the most entering the draft -- the Ravens could keep hitting defense. Edge rusher was my top need. You might see their 54 sacks (second most in the NFL) and wonder why, but remember that Odafe Oweh and Kyle Van Noy are both entering the final years of their deals.

Mike Green finished 18th on my Big Board, and he had 17 sacks last season to lead the nation. Speed, power and a wide array of pass-rush moves allow him to consistently get pressure. (Green was accused of sexual assault at Virginia and faced another sexual assault allegation in high school. He was never charged and said at the combine that he did nothing wrong. Baltimore GM Eric DeCosta said the team looked into the allegations "very thoroughly.")

The Ravens didn't make any in-draft trades last year, they had made only eight over the prior five drafts, and they traded down twice this year. They let the board come to them and got some good prospects. Emery Jones Jr. should kick inside to guard and compete for work with Daniel Faalele. Robert Longerbeam is a good nickel corner and came at great value; I had him ranked 116th overall, and Baltimore took him late in Round 6. Aeneas Peebles will work into the defensive tackle rotation. And Bilhal Kone has some promising athletic traits. Finally, Tyler Loop was my No. 1 kicker this year. He has a massive leg, hitting a 62-yarder in college.

The Ravens scooped up excellent value in Georgia safety Malaki Starks, a versatile playmaker in the secondary who should complement Kyle Hamilton perfectly and give defensive coordinator Zach Orr incredible flexibility. In the second round, Baltimore added Marshall edge rusher Mike Green, whose draft-day fall stems primarily from the two separate accounts of sexual assault that have surfaced, one from high school and another from college (he was not charged in either case). The team addressed offensive line depth by grabbing LSU tackle Emory Jones Jr. and Alabama A&M's Carson Vinson and added some defensive depth in Cal linebacker Teddye Buchanan and Western Michigan corner Bilhal Kone. Starks is the anchor of this class, but outside of that, I'm left with some concerns. Vinson, Kone, and Green all come from smaller schools, and Green's background is troubling. They also drafted kicker Tyler Loop in the sixth round to ostensibly replace Justin Tucker, after 16 massage therapists have come forward with detailed accounts of his sexual misconduct. Overall this doesn't feel like a typical Ravens home run draft.

In the days leading up to the draft, Ravens GM Eric DeCosta spoke about his anticipation of adding a cornerback and safety. Who knew at that time that he meant it happening with one player in the opening round? That's the positional versatility Malaki Starks should offer Baltimore, giving the club a plug-and-play option at strong safety alongside star Kyle Hamilton and added flexibility at the nickel and dime corner spots.

The culture established by DeCosta and head coach John Harbaugh seemingly made them comfortable drafting CFB sack leader Mike Green at No. 59 overall despite disturbing off-field allegations. But like Starks, he winds up in an ideal landing spot. Middle-rounders Emery Jones Jr. and Carson Vinson starred at tackle in college but could be best suited inside for the Ravens. Of their staggering eight selections on Day 3, I'm highest on them and speedy cornerbacks Bilhal Kone and Robert Longerbeam.

It is difficult to improve a team as talented as Baltimore with rookies, but this draft class is loaded with both quality and quantity.

Here's why: Malaki Starks to the Ravens was always a team-player fit that I was keen on, so it's cool to see it actually happen in real life. Starks' versatility joining Kyle Hamilton will let the Ravens do creative things on the backend and in the slot. Mike Green has top-15 type talent and is one of the best pass rushers in this draft. Off-field concerns led to his slide, but he's a first-round talent and will add an electric pass rusher to the Ravens' front. Emery Jones Jr. was a right tackle for LSU but could be best as a guard. He gives the Ravens another player who can potentially play at a couple of spots.

Most interesting pick: Aeneas Peebles, DT, Virginia Tech

He's a short, stocky defensive tackle who wins with leverage and shooting gaps. Peebles' lack of size and length will give him issues holding up against double-teams at the point of attack, but he can be disruptive as a rotational interior defensive lineman for a team that already has other talent up front.

From a football perspective, they got two standouts in the first two rounds with S Malaki Starks and OLB Mike Green, respectively — each addressing what are among the few needs for one of the league's powerhouses, Starks likely to start from Day 1. Green led FBS with 17 sacks in 2024 and could make an immediate splash, too. Still, as much as GM Eric DeCosta defended Green's selection, it's a pretty bad organizational look. The Ravens have significant issues here currently with K Justin Tucker (who they are apparently in the process of replacing with sixth-rounder Tyler Loop) and in their past — yet chose a guy with multiple sexual assault allegations in his past (Green has denied both). Baltimore is a more talented football team today than it was a week ago, but at what cost?

Baltimore has a type, and it certainly stuck to it this year. The Ravens took Starks in the first round to pair with Kyle Hamilton, giving them one of the league's top safety pairings if Starks reaches his full potential. They also landed Green in the second round, a first-round talent who fell due to sexual assault allegations. Jones is a value pick on the offensive line, but whether he sticks at tackle or kicks inside remains to be seen.

It is hard to ignore the elephant in the room when it comes to Mike Green. That said, from a pure football standpoint, he was a tremendous steal in round two. Malaki Starks is also a tremendous pick in the first round. Outside of that, their draft was... it was fine. This was a top-heavy draft.