When it comes to understanding value in the NFL Draft year after year, the Baltimore Ravens are among the league's elite. Not only do they have a great grasp of how the board will fall but often once a prospect many analysts hold in high regard lands in their lap, they know how to find the right roles and or development plans for them to be set up for long-term and sometimes even immediate success.
With that in mind and before the 2025 NFL Draft finally gets underway, let's look back and determine who have been the Ravens best value picks from each of their draft hauls since Eric DeCosta took over as general manager:
2024: OT Roger Rosengarten, Round 2
Offensive tackle is one of the hardest positions to find a high-quality starter at outside of the first round as many of the top players were selected in the top 32 picks of their respective drafts. There are the occasional exceptions who buck that trend and last year the Ravens landed Rosengarten in the bottom of the second round at No. 62 overall.
The former University of Washington standout opened his rookie season in a two-man rotation at right tackle with versatile veteran Patrick Mekari. Once he got a chance to be the full-time starter, he established himself as not just one of the best young offensive linemen in the league but the best regardless of experience and veteran status. Rosengarten appeared in all 19 of the Ravens' games including the playoffs, made 17 starts and proved himself against some of the best edge rushers in the league which included besting future Hall of Famer T.J. Watt multiple times.
2023: WR Zay Flowers, Round 1
Seventh-rounder Andrew Vorhees might have been in contention here had he not lost his starting spot due to injury last year after spending his entire rookie season recovering from a torn ACL because finding a quality starter in the later rounds epitomizes great value. However, the Ravens top pick that year is the easy choice here because they were able to finally find a 'true No.1' receiver in the back-half of the first round at No. 22 overall, a range where the hit rate at the position hasn't been as high historically for this front office in particular.
The former Boston College standout quickly established himself as the Ravens' top pass catcher overall as a rookie even over three-time Pro Bowler Mark Andrews. He has led the team in targets, catches and receiving yards in each of his first two years and is coming off a breakout season in which he not only eclipsed the 1,000 receiving-yard threshold but became the first homegrown player at his position in franchise history voted to the Pro Bowl as a receiver and not as a return specialist.
2022: Kyle Hamilton, Round 1
It is still amazing that the Ravens were able to have the top prospects at their respective positions land in their laps in the first round in Hamilton and center Tyler Linderbaum who deserves strong consideration here since they both have voted to the Pro Bowl in back-to-back seasons. However, Hamilton has established himself as one of the most elite and disruptive defenders in the league regardless of position during his first three seasons. What makes him such a great value despite being a top 15 pick is the fact that the Ravens got him outside of the top 10 at No. 14 overall and didn't have to trade up to ensure that they'd be available when they were on the clock.
The former Notre Dame standout experienced some growing pains early on in his rookie season before getting unlocked in the second half of the year once he was deployed in a hybrid nickel role. He continued to develop in that versatile role in his second season when he broke out and earned First Team All Pro status. Last year he was forced into playing a more traditional safety role out of necessity and still got named Second Team All Pro, further proving himself as the most versatile and dominant safety in the league. The Ravens will be paying at well below market rate for at least another season even if they sign him to an extension this offseason because his 2025 cap hit would be low.
2021: DB Brandon Stephens, Round 3
Even though Ravens fans were happy to see him depart in free agency this offseason, Stephens was a starter in three of the four years in Baltimore after being selected with the second to last pick in the third round at No. 104 overall. While first-rounders Rashod Bateman and Odafe Oweh finally broke out this past season and are on the team through the 2025 season, Stephens played multiple positions and had more than one year of solid-to-borderline-elite level performance.
The former Southern Methodist University standout went from a converted running back to corner in college to starting the last 11 games of his rookie season at free safety and played fairly well considering he was just thrust into the fray after an injury to DeShon Elliott. After taking a backseat and playing rotationally at several spots in his second season, he spent his last two years with the Ravens as a full-time starter at outside cornerback where he was lights out and lockdown in 2023. His final season with the team was marred by ugly lowlight plays where he'd be in great coverage but failed to prevent crucial catches from being made against him. Nevertheless, he has appeared in the most games and made the most starts of anyone from his draft class through four seasons and will net the Ravens a compensatory pick next year.
2020: DT Nnamdi Madubuike, Round 3
Early on, second-round running back J.K. Dobbins and fellow third-rounder, wide receiver Devin Duvernay, had strong cases to be the best value picks from this haul. Dobbins had flashed elite potential as a rookie before injuries derailed his career and Duvernay was an all-purpose weapon who was named to back-to-back Pro Bowls and received First Team All Pro honors as a punt returner in his first three seasons. However, there's no debating Madubuike's status as the best value pick from this haul as he gradually evolved into one of the best interior defensive linemen in the league over the past two seasons, earning Pro Bowl honors in each and being named Second Team All Pro in 2023.
The former Texas A&M standout doubled or more than doubled his sack total from the previous year in each of his first four seasons, going from just one as a rookie to two in his second season, 5.5 in year three and a career-high 13 in his breakout campaign in 2023. He was deservedly rewarded with a massive payday following offseason and even though he recorded half of his regular-season sack total from the previous year in 2024, all the attention he garnered from opposing offensive lines as a certified star helped those around him have standout seasons.
2019: RB Justice Hill, Round 4
The hit rate on DeCosta's inaugural class as general manager after taking over for Ozzie Newsome and Hill being named to this list isn't just a result of him being the last one standing. Fellow fourth-rounder, offensive guard Ben Powers, deserves strong consideration. He started 36 of the 47 games he appeared in with the team and netted them a compensatory pick after he departed in free agency following his breakout 2022 season. First-rounder Marquise Brown became the Ravens' first 1,000-yard receiver since Mike Wallace in 2016 when he narrowly eclipsed the mark in 2021 before being included in the draft-day trade package that netted the Ravens Linderbaum the following offseason.
Hill earned his rightful place on this best-value pick list because he truly has been one of the unsung heroes for the Ravens in more than one phase of the game for most of his career. While bidding his time to carve out a role on offense behind more heralded players, he established himself on special teams as one of the best gunners in the league while providing the occasional spark as a kick returner.
Over the past three seasons, he has become one of the best third-down running backs in the league. Hill is not only a willing but devastating pass protector when it comes to picking up blitzes and delivering crushing blows on chip blocks. He also excels as a pass catcher and was key to the success of the Ravens' two-minute offense last year, finishing with career-highs in targets (51), receptions (42), receiving yards (383), yards per reception (9.1) and receiving touchdowns (three). Hill was also a perfect change-of-pace complement to five-time Pro Bowler Derrick Henry last year, showcasing explosiveness and ruggedness as a ball carrier.
