To no surprise, Nate Wiggins and Roger Rosengarten headlined the immediate return on the Ravens’ 2024 rookie class.
While Wiggins and Rosengarten both became starters in their first NFL season, none of the seven other draft picks played more than 57 snaps on offense or defense in the regular season. But that was hardly surprising with few having a realistic path to playing time beyond contributing on special teams.
The Ravens couldn’t have been more pleased with the progress they saw from Wiggins and Rosengarten.
“Both are growing [as well as] other guys too,” head coach John Harbaugh said in November. “Some guys have been hampered by some injuries or things like that. Some guys are waiting for their chance. … You’re probably making a lot of progress from the beginning to the end if you’re playing your rookie year.”
Below is a look at each of Baltimore’s rookies at the conclusion of the 2024 season:
CB Nate Wiggins
Draft position: First round, 30th overall
Defensive snaps: 680 over 15 games
Synopsis: A September car accident slowed his early progress, but Wiggins routinely took at least 80% of the snaps after Kyle Hamilton began playing more deep safety and Marlon Humphrey became the primary nickel in November. Though the 6-foot-1, 182-pound corner drew too many penalties for being handsy in coverage, Wiggins’ growth was evident when he returned an interception for a touchdown in Week 18 and finished the season with opponents having a catch rate under 50% and a passer rating under 60.0 when targeting him. With Pro Football Focus grading him 25th out of 116 qualified corners, Wiggins simply needs to get stronger this offseason to maximize a bright future.
OT Roger Rosengarten
Draft position: Second round, 62nd overall
Offensive snaps: 933 over 17 games
Synopsis: The Ravens brought Rosengarten along slowly, but the rookie moved into the starting lineup in Week 4 and never relinquished the job as PFF graded him 47th out of 81 qualified offensive tackles. And though the 6-foot-5, 316-pound right tackle received help against some of the toughest edge rushers on the schedule, he was a big part of the effort to blank T.J. Watt in Baltimore’s wild-card round victory over Pittsburgh. The big question now facing Rosengarten is whether he could move to left tackle with Ronnie Stanley set to become a free agent, but he looked every bit the part of a rock-solid starter on the right side, which is all you can ask from a late second-round pick.
OLB Adisa Isaac
Draft position: Third round, 93rd overall
Defensive snaps: 32 over four games
Synopsis: Multiple hamstring injuries derailed any chance of the Penn State product making meaningful rookie contributions as he barely practiced all spring and summer and never carved out a spot in the outside linebacker rotation or on special teams. However, Kyle Van Noy will be entering his age-34 season and disappointing second-round pick David Ojabo will be in a contract year, meaning the 6-foot-4, 253-pound Isaac could find a path to meaningful rotation snaps with a strong preseason.
WR Devontez Walker
Draft position: Fourth round, 113th overall
Offensive snaps: 57 over nine games
Synopsis: An underwhelming spring and summer left Walker as a healthy scratch early in the season before he eventually earned opportunities to contribute on special teams and then caught a touchdown in the Week 15 blowout win over the New York Giants. With both Nelson Agholor and Tylan Wallace scheduled to become free agents, the 6-foot-1, 198-pound Walker should be in the mix for the No. 3 or No. 4 wide receiver job.
CB T.J. Tampa
Draft position: Fourth round, 130th overall
Defensive snaps: 18 over seven games
Synopsis: Like Isaac, Tampa never stayed healthy enough to really become a factor on defense as he missed much of the summer recovering from sports hernia surgery and then spent regular-season time on injured reserve with an ankle injury. With Brandon Stephens likely to depart via free agency, however, Tampa should be in the mix to become a useful outside depth piece.
RB Rasheen Ali
Draft position: Fifth round, 165th overall
Offensive snaps: 29 over six games
Synopsis: Ali saw limited action in December, but being stuck behind Derrick Henry, Justice Hill, and Keaton Mitchell on the depth chart means 2025 won’t be any easier in terms of earning any real playing time. Mitchell being another year removed from his 2023 ACL injury could leave Ali firmly on the roster bubble this summer.
QB Devin Leary
Draft position: Sixth round, 218th overall
Offensive snaps: None (practice squad)
Synopsis: Waived at the end of the summer, Leary spent the entire 2024 season on the practice squad, so it will be telling to see how the Ravens proceed at the quarterback position with primary backup Josh Johnson becoming a free agent and turning 39 in May.
C Nick Samac
Draft position: Seventh round, 228th overall
Offensive snaps: None
Synopsis: It’s rare for someone to be a healthy scratch for every game of a season, but that’s exactly what Samac was as the Baltimore offensive line stayed very healthy. For what it’s worth, ex-Ravens center Ryan Jensen developed into an above-average player after being a healthy scratch for every game of his rookie season, so we’ll see what progress Samac has made by the summer.
S Sanoussi Kane
Draft position: Seventh round, 250th overall
Defensive snaps: 22 over 15 games
Synopsis: The 5-foot-11, 210-pound defensive back finished third on the team in special-teams snaps and special-teams tackles, which is the exact role the organization anticipated when drafting the Purdue product. How the Ravens envision Hamilton’s usage going forward will go a long way in gauging Kane’s chances of cracking sub packages in his second season.
S Beau Brade
Draft position: Undrafted
Defensive snaps: 11 over 11 games
Synopsis: The only undrafted rookie to make the 53-man roster, Brade, a University of Maryland product and River Hill grad, played more than 200 snaps on special teams, but he showed upside as a safety during the preseason. Like Kane, his path to defensive playing time largely depends on what Baltimore does at safety in the wake of Marcus Williams’ expected release.
OT Corey Bullock
Draft position: Undrafted
Offensive snaps: None (practice squad)
Synopsis: The former Terp spent the entire season on the practice squad and will aim to compete for a 53-man roster spot in his second summer with the organization.
G/C Darrian Dalcourt
Draft position: Undrafted
Offensive snaps: None (practice squad)
Synopsis: As was the case last summer, Dalcourt will compete with the likes of Samac for a 53-man roster spot after spending 2024 on the practice squad.
TE Qadir Ismail
Draft position: Undrafted
Offensive snaps: None (practice squad)
Synopsis: One of the cool stories of the 2024 preseason and the son of former Ravens receiver Qadry Ismail, Qadir made the practice squad before suffering a season-ending injury in mid-October.
DL C.J. Ravenell
Draft position: Undrafted
Defensive snaps: None (practice squad)
Synopsis: The 6-foot-5, 292-pound Ravenell is a 53-man roster sleeper to watch this summer as the Ravens must contemplate getting younger along their defensive line.
WR Dayton Wade
Draft position: Undrafted
Offensive snaps: None (practice squad)
Synopsis: A standout performer last summer, the 5-foot-9, 184-pound Wade is undersized, but he could help his 53-man roster chances by contributing as a return specialist, which was a disappointing spot for Baltimore in 2024.
