Pundits Share Favorite Ravens Draft Picks
The dust has settled on the 2025 NFL Draft and pundits like the Ravens' 11-player class. From their prized first-round pick and beyond, here's what they think:
ESPN’s Jordan Reid: S Malaki Starks (Favorite pick in entire draft)
"Once again, the Ravens allowed the board to fall to them and simply took the best player available. Starks doesn't play a position of immediate need, but the Ravens don't bypass talent to reach for needs at certain positions. With the recent release of Marcus Williams, Starks could start right away at free safety and be another crucial performer for an already versatile secondary."
Draftwire’s Jeff Risdon: Starks
"A top-5 overall talent on my board, Baltimore got the versatile Starks at No. 27. He and Kyle Hamilton are instantly one of the best safety tandems in the league – potentially."
The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec: LB Teddye Buchanan
"The Ravens certainly know what high-level inside linebacker play looks like, and Buchanan has the qualities to become the next fan favorite at the position. The fourth-round pick is a high-energy player who flies around the field and usually ends up around the football. Over five college seasons, the first four at UC Davis and the final one at Cal, Buchanan had 322 tackles, nine sacks, three forced fumbles and eight interceptions. At 6-foot-2 and 233 pounds, he is a physical specimen, and he was one of most athletic linebackers in the draft. He'll likely immediately become a core special teamer, but he has the potential to challenge Trenton Simpson for the starting weak-side linebacker job as the season goes on."
CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco: OL Emery Jones Jr.
"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."
Baltimore Beatdown’s Zach Canter: WR/RS LaJohntay Wester
"I'm coming to love the LaJohntay Wester pick from the sixth round. … Wester could and should be a return to the Jacoby Jones times. More important than actual top speed in punt returns, Wester has incredible burst, acceleration, and the start-stop ability that allows dynamic returns to be created. He was awarded the AAC special teams player of the year where he averaged nearly 20 yards a return on 14 punt returns. Along with the special teams aspect, which is good enough on its own to be worth the sixth-round pick, Wester was an insanely productive slot receiver. He had 1,168 yards and 8 scores in 2023 with Florida Atlantic then nearly had 1,000 again with 10 scores in Colorado behind second-overall pick Travis Hunter. I think there's an NFL slot receiver in there despite the size issues. He'll have plenty of time to develop with Zay Flowers and Rashod Bateman still here for another three and two years minimum. Wester is one of the most exciting weapons the Ravens have drafted in a long time. Once Ravens fans find his highlight package, he's going to quickly become a fan favorite who fans ask why he's not getting opportunities. But with trust and time, he'll get his chances. For now, the returner will dazzle us"
What We Learned From Ravens' Draft
The draft offers insight into a franchise's future plans. The Baltimore Banner’s Childs Walker shared what he learned after this weekend.
Mark Andrews will remain a Raven
"DeCosta didn't dissuade suitors from pursuing a deal, refusing to guarantee Andrews would be on his roster as late as the Ravens' April 15 predraft news conference. He finally closed the door on an Andrews trade Friday night. In other words, the Ravens weren't willing to move their three-time Pro Bowl tight end for less than a Day 2 pick. And that's a fine place for the matter to stand until after the 2025 season, when the Ravens will have to choose between Andrews, who'll turn 30 in September, and Isaiah Likely, who's 25 and ready to thrive in a bigger role. The Ravens' immediate mission is to build the best roster in the AFC and reach the Super Bowl for the first time in 13 years. Flipping Andrews — still Lamar Jackson's most trusted third-down and red-zone target — for a fourth-round pick would not have helped."
The Ravens steered into their draft identity, taking a first-round safety devoid of red flags.
"We tend to treat 'safe' as a pejorative when it comes to team building, a nice way of saying a front office isn't going for the gold. Don't tell that to the men running the Ravens' draft room, who have made "safe" a virtue going all the way back to their debut pick, left tackle extraordinaire Jonathan Ogden, in 1996. Despite usually drafting in the second half of the first round, Eric DeCosta and Ozzie Newsome have whiffed far less than most of their peers. And that's largely because they're untroubled by lining doubles to the opposite field instead of swinging for the cheap seats. Which brings us to Starks, the U.S. Treasury bond of 2025 draft prospects. Seriously, try to find the risk in this guy's profile."
Projected Roles for Ravens Rookies
The Ravens closed out the draft with 11 draft selections, but not all of them will generate an immediate impact. Baltimore Positive’s Luke Jones gave his early projections on the rookie class.
Malaki Starks, S, Georgia
"2025 projected role: The presence of Kyle Hamilton and Ar'Darius Washington gives Baltimore the luxury of easing Starks into three-safety sub packages and not putting too much on his plate too soon, but no one should be surprised if the rookie quickly chips away at Washington's every-down snaps.
"Long-term outlook: With Hamilton destined to become the highest-paid safety in the NFL at some point in the near future and Washington signed only through 2025, Starks will be expected to settle into a starting role at a much cheaper rate than Marcus Williams while providing more versatility. It isn't difficult imagining Hamilton and Starks becoming the league's best safety duo in the years to come."
Mike Green, EDGE, Marshall
"2025 projected role: Even with Baltimore returning its entire 2024 group of edge defenders other than Malik Harrison, the talented Green shouldn't have too many problems cracking the top three in the rotation behind projected veteran starters Kyle Van Noy and Odafe Oweh.
"Long-term outlook: Considering the character questions that prompted his fall to the second round, Green is arguably the most promising edge rusher that the Ravens have drafted since Terrell Suggs, which reflects the mostly light early-round investment made at the position for years. With neither Van Noy or Oweh under contract after 2025, Green needs to stay out of trouble and become the real deal."
Emery Jones Jr., OL, LSU
"2025 projected role: With the left guard and No. 3 tackle roles up for grabs after Patrick Mekari's free-agent departure, Jones — a right tackle at LSU — could be in the mix for either of those jobs.
"Long-term outlook: The consensus among draft pundits is the 6-foot-5, 315-pound Jones being a better fit for guard at the next level, but neither DeCosta nor head coach John Harbaugh sounded ready to dismiss him playing tackle. With right guard Daniel Faalele entering a contract year and left guard favorite Andrew Vorhees still unproven, there's a clear path to Jones becoming a starting guard."
