Ravens head coach John Harbaugh and a handful of his defensive assistants were talking shortly before the first round of the NFL Draft on Thursday night when somebody blurted out a thought.
“What if (Nate) Wiggins falls to us? Wouldn’t that be something?” Harbaugh recalled hearing about the Clemson cornerback. “We were like, ‘Nah, that would never happen. That couldn’t happen. But how good would that look in our defense?’ It worked out and it came true.
“We were excited. We were looking for Nate.”
.@WigginNathaniel is Flocking to Baltimore❗ pic.twitter.com/9w0erOodVg
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) April 26, 2024
The Ravens entered the night hoping to come out of the first round with a plug-and-play offensive lineman, a starting-caliber cornerback or extra Day 2 draft capital courtesy of a trade.
As the round unfolded and offensive players were taken with the first 14 picks, it became clear that getting a cornerback was the most likely result. While six offensive linemen went within the first 20 picks, there wasn’t a corner taken until 22, when the Philadelphia Eagles selected Toledo’s Quinyon Mitchell. Two picks later, the Detroit Lions traded up to pick Alabama cornerback Terrion Arnold.
Ravens officials then sweated out the next five picks before they were finally on the clock at No. 30. They wasted no time in turning in the card. They wanted Wiggins, the 6-foot-1, 182-pound cornerback who ran a 4.28 40-yard dash, intercepted now-New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye twice and gave up only one catch over 20 yards in his final college season.
“In my opinion, the best cover corner in the draft,” Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta said. “Highly athletic, fantastic feet. Really, in our opinion, a guy that can go into being a true shutdown-type corner. Ecstatic that he fell to us.”
DeCosta wondered for days whether one of the top 20 players on the Ravens board would be available at 30. He was skeptical. However, Derrick Yam, the Ravens manager of data science and decision, kept insisting that it would happen.
“He was right,” DeCosta said. “When you get a player that you have highly rated, who you love, who fills a position of need, then you’ve got to take him.”
How much did the Ravens covet Wiggins? DeCosta talks ad nauseam about how much he loves draft picks and always wants more. He estimated that the Ravens had eight different offers to move back and collect more draft capital. DeCosta eschewed them all, leaving the team with two picks on Friday’s Day 2 and six on Saturday’s Day 3.
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Most importantly to the Ravens, they have another starting-caliber outside cornerback as Wiggins joins Marlon Humphrey and Brandon Stephens. DeCosta and the team’s decision-makers decided that it would be much easier finding quality offensive linemen and wide receivers later in the draft than a starting-caliber cornerback.
“Just getting a corner, at this point, like Nate, is probably the best way we could have started this weekend,” DeCosta said.
The selection of Wiggins marks the first time the Ravens have used a first-round pick on a cornerback since 2017, when they selected Humphrey at No. 16. Over the last six drafts, they have used only one Day 2 pick on a cornerback, a third-rounder for Stephens in 2021. And there was a thought that Stephens would probably wind up as a safety.
This year, however, it was assumed that DeCosta would use a premium pick on a cornerback. Stephens, who had a breakout season last year in starting 16 games, is a free agent next offseason. Humphrey, a three-time Pro Bowl selection, is coming off an injury-plagued season and his cap number rises to $25 million next season. A few of the Ravens younger corners, like Jalyn Armour-Davis and Damarion Williams, have struggled to stay healthy and will likely begin training camp on the roster bubble.
Veteran Arthur Maulet is a solid option in the slot, but the Ravens lacked outside depth beyond Humphrey and Stephens in a division that has a number of high-quality wide receivers. Enter Wiggins.
“You see him as an outside corner, that’s kind of where he’s made his hay, but he plays inside as well, and he did it in college,” Harbaugh said. “We’ll just continue to be versatile through those DBs, move them around and let them play in different spots. That gives us another quality starting corner. I’d say we have three legitimate starting corners. He has to come in and prove it and do it and all that, but we expect him to do it.”
The Ravens had other cornerback options. Iowa’s versatile defensive back Cooper DeJean was available. He can play outside, inside and safety. He also is a dangerous punt returner and gunner. Alabama’s Kool-Aid McKinstry, another plug-and-play guy, was also still on the board. However, the Ravens loved Wiggins’ cover skills and his combination of length and athleticism.
Baltimore met with Wiggins both at the NFL Scouting Combine and at their facility and came away impressed. They liked his body of work, too. A two-year starter at Clemson, Wiggins had 25 pass breakups in 23 games during that span. Last year, when Wiggins was often asked to shadow the opponent’s top receiver, quarterbacks completed just 43.9 percent of the passes when he was targeted.
“It’s a very hard position to play. A lot of guys can’t do it,” DeCosta said. “The biggest thing is — and John always says it — you’ve got to actually cover people. You’ve got to guard people. It’s a hard thing, and Nate has proven that he can do that very, very well. He’s a young player. We love that about him. He’s 20 years old, one of the fastest players at the combine. (He’s) silky smooth, and he will compete.”
DeCosta said that Clemson coach Dabo Swinney was texting Ravens officials throughout the first round encouraging Baltimore to select the cornerback. Wiggins felt he’d be taken long before pick 30 but believes the Ravens are a great landing spot.
“Just my speed and my instincts and my physicality,” Wiggins said. “Just being on that island, it’s man-to-man. I feel like I’m the best man-to-man corner. I’m the best corner in the draft, so yes, the tape speaks for itself.”
If there is a concern about Wiggins, it’s that he is just 182 pounds and he has a slight frame. Harbaugh, however, noted the times on film that he watched Wiggins come forward and make a big hit on a running back or wide receiver.
DeCosta said the team wasn’t concerned about Wiggins’ size and was confident that he’ll bulk up in the Ravens strength and conditioning program.
“He’ll gain weight. If we get him up there with some of the scouts, he’ll pack it on pretty quick,” DeCosta joked. “We have a plan for him.”
(Photo: Joe Robbins / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
