Pundit names 2 Ravens Day 3 picks as sleepers to be instant impact rookies

Both of the team’s fourth round steals are being projected to become immediate contributors.

Following the NFL Draft each year, a team’s picks on the first two days from the first through the third round usually garner the most hype, excitement and fanfare in the media. It is rare to see the same or even similar treatment for Day 3 picks but that continues to be the case for the Baltimore Ravens’ 2024 fourth-round selections.

Wide receiver Devontez Walker and cornerback T.J. Tampa are already widely viewed as steals due to their tremendous value in relation to where they came off the board. In a recent article, The Athletic’s Nick Baumgardner named both as potential “sleepers who could make an instant impact as rookies.”

Walker was the first of the two to be selected at No. 113 overall out of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He compared his surprising fall given his talent level to Denver Broncos fourth-round rookie wide receiver Troy Franklin who also made the list after going from a projected first-round-to-second-round prospect to not coming off the board until early Day 3 just 11 picks ahead of where the Ravens took Walker.

“On traits alone, Walker was a first round prospect, even with all of the studs at wide receiver in the 2024 class,” Baumgardner wrote. “He’s 6-1 with 33-inch arms, 4.36 speed and a 40 1/2-inch vertical. He is a big-play receiver who can adjust in the air and get to off-target throws that others can’t.”

Baumgardner believes the Ravens’ offense “has to graduate beyond relying so heavily on Lamar Jackson’s legs and its tight ends” and thinks the addition of 2023 first-round wideout Zay Flowers was a good start and Walker could help further that change of course.

“Though I’m not saying Walker will have a similar impact, he’ll have every opportunity to try,” Baumgardner wrote.

Several members of the Ravens front office and coaching staff are already impressed with Walker and have been praising him for his talent and football IQ including general manager Eric DeCosta, head coach John Harbaugh, offensive coordinator Todd Monken and most recently wide receivers coach Greg Lewis.

“[Devontez Walker] is a sponge,” Lewis said. “He wants to know everything, and he’s doing a great job with that. You see his length and his speed out there on the field and [him] making big-bodied catches but then he can take the top off coverages. He’s doing a great job as far as the offense is concerned, learning and understanding what we’re trying to do is different than what he did in college. It’s a lot of nuances, and he’s picking them up seamlessly, so I’m excited [for] where he’s at now and where he can go in the future.”

Baumgardner described Tampa as “another potential snag” for the Ravens at a position of need and cited his alluring physical tools as a big reason why he believes he is set up for immediate success at the next level despite falling to the bottom of the fourth round at No. 130 overall.

“Tampa has the size (6-0, 194 [pounds] with 32-inch arms) and foot speed to be a physical, dependable outside corner in the NFL who can come downhill and help in run game,” Baumgardner wrote. “There are questions about his speed and consistency, which is why he was available in Round 4.”

The former Iowa State Cyclone was viewed by some pundits as a potential surprise late first-round pick down the stretch of the pre-draft process and Baumgardner believes “on talent alone, Tampa was probably closer to a second-round prospect in this year’s corner group.”

“Whether or not he earns a starting job immediately will depend on how consistent he is with his run support — but his talent should be enough to get him on the field,” Baumgardner wrote.

Walker’s pathway to consistent playing time outside of special teams is much clearer than Tampa’s who will most likely be entrenched as the Ravens’ No. 4 corner on the depth chart as a rookie barring injuries. He is behind three-time Pro Bowler Marlon Humphrey who is poised for a bounce-back year, 2023 breakout Brandon Stephens who is heading into a contract year and fellow rookie Nate Wiggins who was taken in the first round at No. 30 overall and is described by many as the “best pure cover corner” in this year’s class.

Meanwhile, at receiver, Walker has the best chance of the two to make at least one of Baumgardner’s projections come to fruition. His combination of blazing speed and big-bodied playmaking ability could carve him out a consistent role in a Ravens offense that has been searching for that particular skill set and presence on the boundary for years.