Ravens just proved no team does more by doing less on draft day

Historically, the Baltimore Ravens have always looked for overall value when it comes to the NFL Draft. It's part of their "best player available" mantra, and they've had it since 1996.

Baltimore's front office carefully examines every prospect in every draft, and their scouts earn money with picks that have good value. In the 2025 NFL Draft, many believe Baltimore struck gold again by finding the right pieces at the exact right spots in this year's draft.

Sometimes, Baltimore doesn't have to do anything to draft a guy. They seemingly just fall right to them. That's exactly what happened with their top two picks in this past draft.

The Ravens' 2025 draft class is filled with value

Malaki Starks fell to Baltimore with the 27th pick in the draft. Starks was a player who was, arguably, the best safety in the draft, and he fell right into Baltimore's hands. Then, the ever-polarizing Mike Green, the defensive end who fell in the draft due to off-the-field issues, was picked by the Ravens in the second round. Emery Jones out of LSU also got to Baltimore in the third round, and he'll be competing for a spot on the starting offensive line during training camp. Tyler Loop was selected in the sixth round, and with the release of Justin Tucker, Loop is poised to become Baltimore's new starting kicker.

Pro Football Focus's Dalton Wasserman seems to agree with how Baltimore drafted, especially with their top two selections. Starks was highly graded by PFF heading into the draft thanks to his strong performances as a Georgia Bulldog. When discussing one big takeaway from the Ravens' draft, Wasserman wrote:

"The Ravens’ draft strategy is a simple one — they just wait for valuable players to fall to them. That approach paid off again in 2025, as they landed two top-10 players on the PFF big board in safetyMalaki Starks at No. 27 and edge rusher Mike Green at No. 59."

"Starks, widely viewed as the top safety in the class, joins a secondary that already ranked fourth in overall grade last season. Green, the highest-graded edge defender in the nation in 2024, adds firepower to a pass rush unit that finished just 15th in PFF pass-rush grade."

Starks notched four interceptions and 77 tackles in 2024 for Georgia, while Green had a breakout year for Marshall with 17 sacks. Both players land in a good situation in Baltimore with a stout defense to which they can bring their skills.

Starks brings more to a deep secondary, and Green adds youth and burst to a pass rush that needs it. General manager Eric DeCosta and the Ravens are always looking for value, and they got that and then some with this 2025 draft class.

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