The Baltimore Ravens have long been a franchise that values the character of the players that they bring into their organization. They have had plenty of success on the field over the course of their history, and part of that is due to the strong culture that they’ve established over the years.
During his media availability at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine, Baltimore head coach John Harbaugh was asked about how the team evaluates the character of the prospects that the could select in the draft. Harbaugh said the scouts go through that process, but what he himself is interested in is the heart of the player along with many other traits.
“I think the scouts do that. The scouts will factor that in, and they’ll talk to us about it. My interest is going to be, ‘Does he have a good heart?’ And, obviously, that’s hard to define, but the bottom line is, ‘Does he treat people the right way? Does he respect other people? Is he fundamentally humble?’ But you still want confident; you still want competitors; we still want very tough, persistent, resilient people. And then what’s their football character, as well? Are they tough? Do they like football? Do they like meetings? Do they want to lift weights? Do they want to practice hard? Are they into it? When they drive home at night, are they thinking about football? When they drive in, in the morning, are they thinking about football? Because, I am, all the time, and you want the people around you to feel the same way. So, that’s kind of what we look for in players.”