Three UDFAs Who Could Make Ravens Roster

With the retirement of veteran nose tackle Michael Pierce this offseason and since the only interior defensive lineman the Ravens used a draft pick on was an undersized three-technique in Aeneas Peebles in the sixth round who won't play on early downs, the former cornhusker stands a great chance of filling the team's top remaining need.

Hutmacher is built and plays like a true nose guard at 6'3" and 314 pounds and can take on and defeat double teams. He comes from a strong wrestling background as the first-ever four-time heavyweight state champion in South Dakota's history which shows up on tape as he possesses a great understanding of how to gain and take advantage of leverage.

Over his final three seasons in college, he recorded 13 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks including a career-high 4.5 in 2023 alone. As was the case with Pierce when he went undrafted out of Samford in 2016, making the most of his opportunities in the preseason could give Hutmacher the edge over any other young or experienced player for a roster spot.

LB Jay Higgins, Iowa

The Ravens are one of the league's best at unearthing and developing high-quality off-ball linebackers from the undrafted ranks and the former Hawkeye could very well be the next. Many analysts were surprised to see him not get his name called at least sometime on Day 3 given that he is one of the most accomplished and well-rounded rookies at the position in this year's class.

Higgins earned Second and First Team All American as well as First Team All Big Ten honors in his final two seasons and led the FBS with 171 total tackles in 2023 and followed it up with a team-leading 124 in his final year. Over that dominant stretch, he also recorded 7.5 tackles for loss, three sacks, five interceptions, nine pass breakups and three forced fumbles.

At 6-foot, his lack of height and athleticism when it came to testing is certainly what led him to drop down draft boards but he more than makes up for his deficiencies by being very instinctual when it comes to reading run and pass, being able to make plays in zone coverage and shine on special teams.

With Roquan Smith, Trenton Simpson, Jake Hummel and fellow rookie Teddye Buchanan who was selected in the fourth round all locks to make the team, Higgins' top competition for a fifth and final linebacker spot will be another former undrafted free agent, William Kwenkeu. Head coach John Harbaugh spoke highly of them at the league meetings in late March and both players will need to do their best on special teams to gain an edge over the other.

DT Jayson Jones, Auburn

All of the same context reasons in support of Hutmacher's chances to make the team apply to the former Tiger who was among the first reported undrafted rookie signings for the Ravens. Jones is an even bigger space-eating zero or one-technique presence measuring at 6'5" and just under 330 pounds. He played his freshman year in the Pac-12 at Oregon and spent the next three seasons in the SEC and finished his career with 84 total tackles including four for a loss, 1.5 sacks, a fumble recovery and a batted pass.

Jones possesses violent hands, plays with impressive power at the point of attack and is difficult to move even when double-teamed. His performance in exhibition games will be vital to his chances of making the roster and as was the case with Pierce a decade ago, it could come down to the preseason finale to put him over top.