A Baltimore Ravens mock draft Monday the week of the 2025 NFL draft.
It’s officially draft week. In just a few days, the Ravens will make their first-round selection, currently at No. 27 overall. As we kick off a week of content coming down the pike, we’ll start with a full seven-round mock draft.
This mock comes from Pro Football Network’s free mock simulator. No trades were accepted due to the unpredictability of trades in the NFL draft. The Ravens currently have 11 picks in the draft and are expected to use all of them to bolster the roster, both now with immediate impact talent and for the future with developmental picks, as their cap space is expected to be limited in the coming years.
RD 1-27: Donovan Ezeiruaku, Edge, Boston College
Ezeiruaku has teams split on him. Some love him, some don’t see him as a first-round player. Daniel Jeremiah has repeatedly said that he is high on Ezeiruaku, and if I had to guess, that means the Ravens (where DJ worked for around three years). DJ and the Ravens’ outlooks on prospects typically align. Ezeiruaku has also been a popular mock to the Ravens and that smoke has to come from somewhere if multiple draft experts seem to think he’s an option.
Ezeiruaku is known as a speed rusher whose biggest knock is not converting speed-to-power at times and lacking some size and frame, which leads to some consistency issues in the run game. But the rest is there. Ezeiruaku’s speed rush is legitimate, but it’s also paired with other moves such as a club and swim, spins, euro steps, cross chops, and inside counters made with accurate and effective hand placement. Combine all that with flexibility, bend, and a pass rush plan, and you have an instant impact pass-rusher.
He’ll need to work with Chuck Smith to develop more power, but the addition of a long arm and bull rush will help him take another leap as a pass rusher later on and steady himself as a run defender. For now, he’ll be a rotational rusher who could be impactful in the postseason, which is what the Ravens need more than another run defender at this point.
RD 2-59: Xavier Watts, Safety, Notre Dame
This is about as perfect as this pick could get. Xavier Watts in round two is a better fit than Malakai Starks or Nick Emmanwori in round one, though I am high on Starks. Watts doesn’t jump off the sheet as an athlete, but does everything well enough that athleticism isn’t a worry.. His real weapon is his mental processing and IQ. He makes plays that some would call ‘instinct’, but in reality, it is his processing and smarts that allow him to make special plays on the ball despite not being an exceptional athlete, with 13 interceptions in the past two seasons.
Watts fits in perfectly for this system. He’s not a spectacular run defender on the field, but he shows physicality and can grow there with more discipline. Where he does fit in for the immediate is three-safety sets. Watts allows the Ravens to return to more single-high, deep safety coverages like when Marcus Williams first came to Baltimore. But he also pairs well with Ar’Darius Washington to play split safety roles, allowing Kyle Hamilton to become the chess piece once more. Watts is a perfect free safety replacement for the Marcus Williams role, roaming the field with excellent ball skills, while the run defense and tackling can grow later in the rookie deal.
Rd 3-91: Charles Grant, OT, William & Mary
Grant is a really fun fit for the Baltimore Ravens and a guy I could truly see wearing the purple and black. Coming from a zone scheme at William & Mary, Grant fits in perfectly with what the Ravens would like to do, as they continue to move to more of a zone team while still keeping elements of everything. A solid athlete, Grant can also eventually fit in the picture of “five-man protections,” where Todd Monken doesn’t want to deploy help for his offensive line as much as possible.
A tall tackle with over 34-inch arms, Grant stands out on tape for the size while also simply being the best athlete on the field at times. Grant could immediately challenge for a guard spot on the Ravens’ line while also being the succession plan for Ronnie Stanley whenever they feel Grant is ready to take over. The real question will be how quickly Grant adjusts to NFL competition after only playing at the FCS level. If there’s a minimal adjustment period, then Grant could start as a rookie and then eventually take over for Stanley as the left tackle of the future. If not, he’ll develop for a year or two while being the backup tackle, then hopefully be ready to step in.
Rd 4-129: Jackson Slater, OG, Sacramento State
Another athletic FCS offensive lineman capable of zone blocking, I was actually shooting for defensive tackle Jordan Phillips here, who went one pick before. That being said, Slater comes in as immediate solid depth at the guard position, something the Ravens need. A four-year starter with 44 games and multiple FCS and conference accolades, Slater has plenty of experience to be immediate depth as a rookie. While the technique is inconsistent, which causes most of Slater’s issues, everything is on the table for Slater to develop into an above-average NFL guard. He ran a 5.01 40-yard dash and put up 31 reps on the bench press, so the strength and speed are there. A
If Grant above doesn’t push for a guard spot early, Slater could be pushing for one after a year of redshirting and building up more consistent technique during his rookie season. Slater could also end up having center versatility, but for now, that’s just a projection based on size and athletic testing, a 9.43 Relative Athletic Score.
Rd 4-136: Jamaree Caldwell, DT, Oregon
As stated above, I was hoping to get a tackle to help Nnamdi Madubuike, Travis Jones, and Broderick Washington sooner. If this is the outcome, the Ravens will probably need a vet after the draft, but Jamaree Caldwell is about as close to a Michael Pierce replacement as you can get. Caldwell might be the most nose-tackle-shaped defensive lineman, testing at 6’1 and 330 lbs, but I wouldn’t be shocked if his playing weight was closer to 340 or more, similar to Pierce.
Caldwell is a bona fide run stopper, capable of taking on double teams and two-gapping, allowing him to play both as the typical zero-tech nose tackle but also has the versatility to scoot out into some defensive tackle, three-tech looks. Similarly to Pierce, Caldwell isn’t a pass rusher and doesn’t have a bag of moves, but his ability to move the way he does at his size will allow him to crush pockets and run into a sack or two each year.
Out of every single draft pick on this mock, Caldwell is the one that feels most like a Raven. A non-stop motor, hustle, grit, the perfect Michael Pierce replacement. He could go at their other fourth-round pick or even earlier to another team. I will be devastated if Caldwell doesn’t wear purple.
Rd 5-176: Zah Frazier, CB, Texas-San Antonio
Frazier is only a one-year FBS starter at 24 years old coming into the draft, but the one year was impressive. He had a 19.5% forced incompletion rate with six interceptions and 5 pass breakups, along with a 5.6% career missed tackle rate. While there are a ton of questions overall about his game, the dream here is the traits. 6’3 with nearly 33-inch arms, he brings sub-4.4 speed with impressive burst to pair with the elite size and length.
Best case scenario, the Ravens clean up the lack of refinement in his game, and he turns into a great corner with a prototype body. If nothing else, Frazier will make an excellent special teamer and depth at the outside corner position with rare size and athleticism. He could see a chance as a returner simply because of his athleticism and ball skills.
Rd 6-183: Jamon Dumas-Johnson, LB, Kentucky
The first of four sixth-round picks for the Ravens, Dumas-Johnson is a Maryland native. He’s a downhill thumper, something the Ravens will need with Malik Harrison gone. He struggles in most coverage situations but can be serviceable in zone. He has 35 career starts, including 24 across two Georgia Championship teams, so Dumas-Johnson could come in as an immediate early-down run-stopping linebacker with experience but probably won’t go much farther than that and as a special teamer without significant improvement.
Rd 6-203: Vernon Broughton, DT, Texas
Broughton is a pass-rush first defensive tackle. At 6’5 with 35-inch arms, Broughton causes havoc with an impressively refined pass rush plan and had an 18.1% pass rush win rate in 2024.. He may go higher than this simply because of the value he has as a rusher, but he can struggle to convert those rushes and is, at most, an average run defender who struggles with double teams and shedding blocks to be consistently impactful at the NFL level where his size and length simply won’t be enough against NFL offensive lines.
Rd 6-210: Kaden Prather, WR, Maryland
The local Montgomery County kid who transferred to Maryland during his college career adds 6’3 size with decent 4.45 speed to a Ravens roster that constantly has fans begging for size (and Terps). While his route tree is limited because of his size and he isn’t explosive enough to be a deep-threat burner, Prather offers value as a deep target due to his ability to create separation with his nuance and size, paired with ok speed. The issue is that the Ravens might look to Devontez Walker as a better deep threat option. Prather could also make the roster as a blocking specialist and special-teams player.
Rd 6-212: Ben Sauls, Kicker, Pittsburgh
The writing seems on the wall for the Ravens to at least explore kicking options at some point. Sauls seems to be a combination of accurate, perfect inside of 40 yards the last two seasons, along with having a big leg, hitting six 50-plus-yard field goals in 2024, including two 57-yarders and a 58-yarder. Whether it’s Sauls or Ryan Fitzgerald from Florida State, I expect the Ravens to select one of their four sixth-round picks on a kicker rather than waiting for a UDFA. It will all depend on what the Ravens are hearing about when other teams might start looking at kickers.
Rd 7-243: Dante Trader Jr, Safety, Maryland
I am once again giving fan service. Baltimore fans love a Terp on the roster. Trader Jr. is a safety with experience in multiple secondary spots but will likely end up as a line of scrimmage safety, mostly in run support. Trader Jr. is a below-average athlete but has instincts to cover up deficiencies but guesses more than he actually diagnoses. This puts him out of position with no athletic ability to recover in coverage too often. Trader Jr. is an excellent tackler though, and because of that, combined with his instincts and football character, will make a roster as a special teamer with the ceiling of being a constant dime safety around the line of scrimmage and run support defensive back.