OTL: Ravens Exercise Oweh’s 5th-Year Option

As we continue to react to last weekend’s NFL Draft, today’s Out to Lunch is all about the youngsters GM Eric DeCosta and company added to the roster!

Say what you will about certain needs going unaddressed or player profiles, but at least one outlet has the Ravens as winners in this year’s draft:

Baltimore Ravens draft grades the last three seasons:

2022: A+
2023: B
2024: A- pic.twitter.com/EPlrclQA63

— PFF BAL Ravens (@PFF_Ravens) April 30, 2024

Improving over last year’s haul will be key, especially considering last year’s class had a few infrequent contributors (though raw players) and one player that didn’t stick around. This year’s evaluation will of course have to wait until players hit the field, but it’s a promising early reaction.

Starting at the top, former Clemson CB Nate Wiggins is poised to really uplift this secondary. Marlon Humphrey is approaching the back-nine of his career, and depth was needed regardless.

But Wiggins’ coverage skills make him a no-brainer even beyond that. He’ll flourish early if this kind of performance translates to the NFL:

Nate Wiggins allowed just a 44.4 QBR when targeted in his Junior year. pic.twitter.com/rUdtMdSZcJ

— ð—¥ð—®ð˜ƒð—²ð—»ð˜€ ð—¡ð—®ð˜ð—¶ð—¼ð—» ð™‡ð™„ð™‘𙀠(@LIVERavenNation) April 30, 2024

RSR’s Cole Jackson dug deep into the 20-year old’s game on Tuesday:

A Deep Dive on 1st Round Pick, CB Nate Wiggins

Meanwhile, the Ravens did a “Get to Know Me” feature with Wiggins, as well:

We’re friends now so we call him “Nate the Great” @WigginNathaniel pic.twitter.com/3kRebF0TrJ

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) April 30, 2024

Hearing a draft pick plays physical never gets old. But alongside Wiggins, the Ravens brought in Iowa State star T.J. Tampa, with DeCosta double-dipping in the secondary.

Tampa was a true value pick on Day 3, but his former teammate Breece Hall sung his praises, too:

Jets RB Breece Hall on Ravens CB TJ Tampa:

“TJ Tampa gon be the steal of the draft. Y’all don’t even know.” pic.twitter.com/qIaDhNbT3C

— ð—¥ð—®ð˜ƒð—²ð—»ð˜€ ð—¡ð—®ð˜ð—¶ð—¼ð—» ð™‡ð™„ð™‘𙀠(@LIVERavenNation) April 30, 2024

To me, it means more when a current player goes out of their way to say something like this. With a 6’1 frame and length to go alongside Wiggins’ speed, Baltimore gave itself a ton of flexibility in the DB room.

In Round 2, the Ravens beefed up the O-Line, snagging Washington RT Roger Rosengarten. While RT is an immediate need, Rosengarten could have the potential to swing to LT down the road. Again, Cole Jackson loves him!

Roger Rosengarten has some very clear things to improve on, but I haven’t had this much fun watching an OT in a while.

If he can correct his oversets on jump sets he’s going to be a fun matchup to watch every week.

Can’t wait to get his film out tomorrow!#RavensFlock

— Cole Jackson (@ColeJacksonFB) April 30, 2024

Tale of the Tape: Can Rosengarten Replace Moses at RT?

The immediate need makes this a great pick regardless, but Rosengarten was trusted to protect the blindside of lefty Michael Penix Jr. I suspect he’ll eventually be doing the same for righty Lamar Jackson.

Outside these noteworthy selections, it seems another goal of DeCosta’s could have been bringing in as many friends of Odafe Oweh as possible. He succeeded, adding another two over the weekend:

Not only did Odafe Oweh get a college teammate in Adisa Isaac on the Ravens, but he also got ANOTHER high school teammate in Sanoussi Kane (Blair Academy, N.J.).

Add in David Ojabo and it’s a full-on Ravens reunion for Oweh.

— Ryan Mink (@ryanmink) April 30, 2024

All jokes aside, I’m sure Oweh was in their draft plans somewhere, as the Ravens elected to pick-up his 5^th year option on Tuesday:

We have picked up @DafeOweh‘s fifth-year optionpic.twitter.com/23uf9vpTHN

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) April 30, 2024

Ravens announce that they have picked up OLB Odafe Oweh’s fifth-year option. He’s under contract for two more years

— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiec) April 30, 2024

They’ll pay a somewhat unproven player a pretty penny, but Oweh really came on late last year. Ryan Mink does a nice write-up on it here:

Odafe Oweh had a strong third season and is still on the rise.

His pass rush win rate of 18.2% last season was tied for 10th among all EDGE defenders with at least 100 pass rushes.

Can’t wait to see what @DafeOweh does in 2024 (and 2025)!https://t.co/i1eY33Vis6

— Ryan Mink (@ryanmink) April 30, 2024

Historically, the Ravens have done well in keeping their own. Outside Patrick Queen (inability to pay after paying Roquan Smith) and Hollywood Brown (trade request), the only others who did not get their option exercised severely underperformed:

Ravens’ history with 5th-year options
2014: J.Smith (yes)
2016: Elam (no)
2017: Mosley (yes)
2018: Perriman (no)
2019: Stanley (yes)
2020: Humphrey (yes)
2021: Hurst (traded), Lamar Jackson (yes)
2022: Marquise Brown (traded)
2023: Queen (no)
2024: Bateman (extension), Oweh (yes)

— Jamison Hensley (@jamisonhensley) April 30, 2024

Oweh has the potential to break out; it’s all a matter of putting things together.

And if you’d like to watch him do that, you can now do it field-level, the Ravens announced:

We’re excited to introduce new field-level seats beginning in 2024! This is part of The Next Evolution at M&T Bank Stadium!

Get more info here: https://t.co/lLvd0GULM2 pic.twitter.com/m7ACo8WPkn

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) April 30, 2024

Coming in 2024, this is sure to be a crazy gameday experience.

The post OTL: Ravens Exercise Oweh’s 5th-Year Option appeared first on Russell Street Report.