Ravens' Breakout Candidate Made One Major Change

The Baltimore Ravens have big expectations for second-year cornerback Nate Wiggins in 2025, and he's done everything he can this offseason so that he can reach those.

Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic believes Wiggins has the best chance to breakout on the Ravens this season and it's thanks to him putting in a lot of work over the past few months.

"He put on about 10 pounds of muscle this offseason, and he has a far better understanding of Baltimore’s defensive plan," Zrebiec writes. "The Ravens believe he has star potential."

Baltimore selected Wiggins in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft knowing he was far from a finished product. He weighed in at 173 pounds at the NFL Scouting Combine and then was up to 182 pounds for his pro day.

However, if Wiggins wanted to be able to compete with the NFL's top talent, adding more weight to his frame was a must.

That doesn't mean Wiggins didn't have success as a rookie, though. In fact, he was quite productive while recording 33 tackles, one forced fumble, one interception, 13 passes defensed and one touchdown. He also didn't allow a single touchdown when targeted.

So if Wiggins retained his speed with his added weight, there's no doubt he's primed to make a big leap in his second NFL season.

Wiggins has all the pieces he needs to be successful around him, too. Cornerback Marlon Humphrey is returning to his slot role and the Ravens added another highly-experience veteran in Jaire Alexander this offseason, giving them the league's best secondary.

Baltimore has prided itself on being a physical defense for many years, but Wiggins' lack thereof was one of his knocks coming out of Clemson.

With a few more pounds on his frame, Wiggins can take his game to another level and add to the Ravens' already feared group on defense.