Knee-Jerk Reactions: Day 3 of the 2025 NFL Draft

The Baltimore Ravens ended up making eight picks on Day 3 of the 2025 NFL Draft:

Round 4

Cal LB Teddye Buchanan

Round 5

Alabama A&M OT Carson Vinson

Round 6

Michigan CB Bilhal Kone

Arizona K Tyler Loop

Colorado WR Lajohntay Wester

Virginia Tech DL Aeneas Peebles

Rutgers CB Robert Longerbeam

Round 7

LSU OL Garrett Dellinger

RSR staff give our thoughts on all the picks here.

Nikhil Mehta

Round 4, Pick 129

Cal linebacker Teddye Buchanan was on my list as a mid-Day 3 target, but there were several players – including multiple LBs – that I would have liked more at 129. (that’s almost always going to be the case on Day 3, though.) He does profile as a potential passing-down contributor with good instincts in coverage and as a blitzer, but the NFL will be a significant mental jump for a one-year college starter. Still, the Ravens need depth at the position, and Buchanan can definitely contribute on special teams.

Grade: B-

Round 5, Pick 141

I didn’t really get the trade back from 136, but I’m fairly happy with the target in Alabama A&M offensive tackle Carson Vinson. He’s a classic Day 3 draft-and-develop left tackle prospect with solid size/athleticism and an unrefined playstyle. After adding a G/RT prospect in Emery Jones, Vinson is a dart throw at finding a long-term successor to Ronnie Stanley. I like the process at least, even though Vinson doesn’t project to contribute until late on his rookie contract.

Grade: C+

Round 6, Pick 178

I like trading around to upgrade a future pick, and Western Michigan cornerback Bilhal Kone has the toughness and athleticism to be a depth cornerback in Baltimore. He has some natural feel for the position, but there’s reason to believe he can develop into a CB3 by the end of his rookie deal. The Ravens have done a good job finding veterans to fill that role in recent years, but I like the idea of developing someone to compete with T.J. Tampa.

Grade: B

Round 6, Pick 188

Arizona kicker Tyler Loop has a big leg, and I trust Randy Brown and the rest of the Ravens’ special teams to identify their successor to Justin Tucker. If he’s the guy, this is a good pick, and I’ll defer to the experts in the Castle. It became clear, at this point, that the Ravens were not as high on this iDL class as others and could wait a while to address the position.

Grade: B+

Round 6, Pick 203

Colorado WR LaJohntay Wester meets the basic requirement I had of a Day 3 wide receiver: return ability. He’s a small, slot-only reciever, but he brings instant special teams upside. He was productive in college, but it will take time for him to earn a role in an NFL offense.

Grade: C+

Round 6, Pick 210

Finally, the Ravens addressed the defensive line with Virginia Tech’s Aeneas Peebles, an athletic, undersized interior disruptor who could be a pass-rushing weapon in the NFL. This is great value for a player who was expected to go much earlier on Day 3. His size will limit him against the run, but he has a ton of upside as an interior disruptor.

Grade: A

Round 6, Pick 212

I had my eye on Rutgers cornerback Robert Longerbeam as a hard-nosed, athletic nickel prospect who could fit in well in Baltimore. The Ravens have found success with similar players in the past, and Longerbeam’s toughness and physicality will help him contribute on special teams early. I think he has the potential to be a backup nickel if he can find better ways to overcome his size deficit in the NFL.

Grade: A-

Round 7, Pick 243

I love the LSU O-line prospects in this draft, and guard Garrett Dellinger is a solid, experienced prospect who will be a solid fit in the Ravens’ scheme. Still, was a third OL – especially a guard-only with minimal experience at center – the best use of the last pick? I think the roster needed another linebacker or defensive tackle a little more, but Dellinger has enough talent to be worth the pick.

Grade: C+

Jared Pinder

Buchanan is the type of prospect at linebacker you should take late and hope he develops. He is a great athlete, and he is smaller and lighter, yet still strong enough to take on tackles. You have to take shots on athleticism this late in the draft and hope you have good enough coaches to teach them to play. Buchanan fits that profile perfectly.

Vinson is the typical late-round developmental tackle pick late in the draft. He is a very tools-y Tackle from a small school who had good testing numbers. He is a shot in the dark who had a good week at the Senior Bowl. I have wanted the Ravens to make a pick like this for a while now, and I can’t wait to see what the Ravens coaches can do with him.

Kone is the type of Corner most NFL teams like to target later in the Process. A good athlete who played at a low level of competition, who is scrappy as anything. unknown where he truly fits in the Cornerback depth chart because I did like some other Corners the Ravens drafted later, but he is fine here with this pick.

Tyler Loop: the Ravens rarely make their plans known, but everyone and their mother knew that they were drafting a kicker. Loop becomes the first ever Kicker drafted by the organization, and he has a huge leg that can make kicks upwards of 60 + yards. What this means about the Tucker situation is unknown, but the Ravens’ hands were forced with this one.

LaJohntay Wester: I was happy when Harbaugh acknowledged he wanted the team to draft a punt returner last week, and Wester seems to be the dude for the job. His profile is much more of a slot-only receiver, but if he is the next great punt returner for the Ravens, that would be wonderful.

Peebles is the type of player I think the Ravens need on the interior. They have a bunch of guys who can stop the run, but what they do not have is someone like this. He is short, but he adds that juice on the inside, an obvious pass rushing downs. I love this pick.

Longerbeam is the corner I was talking about earlier. He is smaller and does profile as a Nickel, but the tape was too good for this late in the Draft. He also has good special-teams tape as well, so this just adds value to this selection. A great round six gets even better.

Dellinger, as the last pick, is solid. He played guard at LSU and started a ton of games for them. He is a good run blocker and fits what Monken likes in his Guards. The only issue is that he is limited to guard only, but this late in the Draft, it is fine and a good end to a great Draft for EDC.

Chad Racine

Bilal Kone, CB: Forgive me if I don’t have much faith in late corners for the Ravens. I was hoping to see some defensive line help by this point.

Tyler Roop, K: Did the Patriots steel the Ravens guy Andres Borregalas? We’ll never know. I think this needed to be done considering the Ravens situation. I hope he can at least be better than Tucker was last year.

LaJohntay Wester, WR: This was basically for special teams as a returner. At Wester’s size we can’t expect much more than that.

Aeneas Peebles, DT: Undersized defensive lineman that lacks the ideal measurables. However, I trust the Ravens more with a defensive lineman. I don’t expect he’ll be a starter anytime soon but hopefully he’ll grow into one or at least a rotational player.

Robert Longerbeam CB: Another fast lean corner that’ll be designated for special teams most likely with the hopes of developing into something more. The Ravens have 11 picks so I understand taking some swings.

Garrett Dellinger, G: Very happy to see the Ravens triple dip at the offensive line. The have found plenty of success is late round guards. Dellinger has been hampered by injuries but it’s worth taking a chance in round 7.

Chris Schisler

Overall, it’s hard to be disappointed with the Ravens draft class. Day 3 checked all the boxes. The Ravens needed offensive line depth, they got a mammoth tackle from Alabama A&M. The Ravens added a speedy receiver late, why not? The Ravens added some defensive back depth, why not?

Without getting into the nitty gritty of prospects I mostly didn’t study in advance, the Day 3 picks can be boiled down to one word: contingencies. You can never have enough receivers or defensive backs and offensive line depth was a big concern coming into the draft. The Ravens drafted players to develop in these areas.

The selection of Tyler Loop gives the Ravens a backup plan for Justin Tucker. Tucker’s situation is a bit cloudy and he’s coming off a season under his lofty standards. I get a little bit of Jermaine Lewis vibes from LaJohntay Wester. There has to be a way to utilize his speed on special teams as he builds up his ability at wide receiver. I could be reaching here, I just have a sneaky feeling about this receiver from Colorado.

The Ravens were active on Day 3, surprisingly keeping a good number of picks in the sixth round, a round Eric DeCosta hasn’t been overly enthusiastic about in his tenure. Let’s see how much value this brings in August as we see the 53 man roster and practice squad being built; get the Ravens certainly took a lot of shots in this draft.

John Hughey

R4 P129 Teddye Buchanan: After losing both Malik Harrison and Chris Board this offseason, it was clear the Ravens would need to address the LB position. Buchanan brings a lot of upside in the passing game, shining specifically in zone coverage. The Cal linebacker is a reliable tackler who wraps up ball carriers consistently, picking up over 100 tackles in 2024. Buchanan brings the skill level to immediately help on special teams, with an upside to make an impact on defense down the road

Grade: B

R5 P141 Carson Vinson: The Ravens elected to trade back with Tennessee sending two picks, and receiving the 141st and 178th. Vinson is the perfect project for Ravens OL coach, George Warhop. The Alabama A&M tackle brings size, strength, and solid athletic ability, with a dominant presence in the run game. Vinson was reportedly one of Warhop’s favorite prospects, making it interesting to see what the future holds for Carson in Baltimore

Grade: C+

R6 P178 Bilhal Kone: Eric DeCosta made it known the Ravens were in the market for a safety and corner entering the 2025 NFL Draft. It was definitely interesting to see the front office wait as long as they did to address the cornerback room on day 3, given the higher talent still available on day 2. Bilhal’s size and coverage skills, however, make it potentially worth the wait to find more depth in the secondary. Kone’s mirroring and route recognition make him an intriguing late pick for a smaller Ravens cornerback group.

Grade: B+

R6 P186 Tyler Loop: Following the pick of Tyler Loop, it seems the Justin Tucker era is coming to an end. Loop was one of the more impressive kickers in the draft, showing an ability to hit at a consistent pace with depth as well. Finishing his career 67/80 on FGs and 126/128 on XPs, Loop has the talent and ability to take over right away, and possibly become an upgrade to a position group that struggled in 2024.

Grade: B

R6 P203 LaJohntay Wester: The Ravens prioritize special teams more than most, and Wester’s ability to create explosive plays both on punt returns and in the slot makes him an interesting fit in Baltimore. The Ravens haven’t really had a receiver with the ability to take the top off a defense, following the trade of Hollywood Brown. LaJohntay’s speed and twitchiness create difficult matchups for opposing linebackers and safeties, with a threat to attack the seams. Wester’s size and strength limit him as a pass catcher, but when utilized correctly, he’s got the skill to be a real problem on gadget plays

Grade: B+

R6 P210 Aeneas Peebles: There’s no questioning the Ravens need within the interior defensive line. With Micheal Pierce’s retirement and the lack of growth from Broderick Washington, it’s time to get younger in the trenches. Peebles may be undersized as a defensive lineman, but his athletic ability allows him to shoot off blocks and get serious penetration when one-gapping. His size will affect his effectiveness in the run game, but the ceiling as a pass-rusher makes him an intriguing late pick for the Ravens.

Grade: B-

R6 P212 Robert Longerbeam: DeCosta elected to address the cornerback room for a second time, grabbing a zone coverage specialist in Robert Longerbeam. The Rutgers corner is a scrappy player who plays with a chip on his shoulder, despite his 5’11” frame. Longerbeam’s vision and awareness allow him to thrive in zone coverage, picking up 11 PBUs and 4 INTs in 2024. He needs some work in the run game, specifically tackling stronger ball carriers, but it’s hard to hate this pick for another depth piece in the secondary.

Grade: A-

R7 P243 Garrett Dellinger- It’s never a bad idea to add some beef to the offensive line, and Dellinger is just that. The LSU guard uses his size to make up for his less-than-ideal athletic ability. Dellinger shows a solid presence in pass pro against the bull rush, but his less-than-ideal movement skills leave him with the expectation to remain a backup guard in the NFL

Grade: C

Kevin McNelis

The selection of Teddye Buchanan at 129 was a bit of a head-scratcher. I firmly believed that CB and DT would be Baltimore’s two positions with their 4th-round picks, as they seemed like the bigger needs, but maybe the front office and coaching staff didn’t feel that way. Don’t get me wrong, Buchanan racks up tackles and has special teams chops, two things that the Ravens value, but his consensus ranking was considerably lower. Maybe missing out on bigger names at the position like Danny Stutsman may have had the Ravens believing they needed to spend higher based on market scarcity.

Carson Vinson was definitely an odd pick at that spot given the landscape. Vinson is a physical monster, so another guy whose physicality and athletic development could see him as an intriguing player in the competition for guard, or at the very least, a backup for the room. That said, an odd pick after having already taken Emery Jones and the needs they have at DT and CB still. I would’ve loved to see them get in on the run at DT before a bit of an odd trade back and come away with Tonka Hemingway or even Jordan Phillips, but the teams around them had other ideas. Not the path I would’ve picked, but too early to judge the end product.

The Bilhal Kone pick had me pretty upset, at no fault of Kone’s. It had everything to do with the fact that Baltimore traded back knowing they were targeting a CB and handed Dorian Strong to the Bills the pick before they went on the clock at 178. Strong was a CB that I LOVED in terms of upside, and to miss out on him for a corner in Kone with a lower floor and against weaker competition just rubbed me the wrong way. Admittedly, because of where Kone was on the consensus list, I hadn’t done more than a cursory dive into his game, so maybe I’m just chuffed that one of my guys wasn’t the pick and that he’s now playing for one of our top AFC competitors. Kone has good length, decent athletic numbers and a ton of tackles, so maybe he ends up outperforming Strong at the next level and I get egg on my face here.

I wasn’t surprised that Baltimore took a kicker, but I was slightly surprised at the position they took one, and which one they selected. My money had been on Ryan Fitzgerald, who they’d hosted for a private workout earlier, but maybe Loop’s numbers were too good for the Ravens to pass up. He’s one of the few college kickers who’s shown he can hit even remotely consistently from 50+, and once the Pats grabbed Andres Borreglas, maybe the Ravens figured they’d better get their guy.

Similarly, the Wester pick screams special teams addition. I would anticipate they bring him in basically just to compete for a kick return position unless his skill set proves otherwise, and they desperately need the help in the return game.

After having waited for a while to address DT, I LOVED getting Peebles here. He’s a guy I actually wouldn’t have minded spending higher on based on his pass rush chops, and even though his size means he doesn’t represent a true nose that they need, I like the idea of throwing him into the rotation up front for when you’re trying to bring the heat on a QB.

I actually got the chance to see Longerbeam this year when Rutgers played at College Park, and I remember feeling like his disruptiveness against the pass was pretty foreign for a Maryland receiving game that had done well otherwise throughout the year. During that game, he fluctuated from being a thorn in Maryland’s side to a real pain in their ass, and I would love to see him do that in black and purple.

Finally, I do like the upside represented by the Dellinger selection, and similarly to Emery Jones, the pedigree of selecting a guy from the SEC who’s already faced top-tier competition means he may not have as far to go when adjusting to the NFL. Selecting a third lineman in this group makes sense given how many defensive selections there were from division opponents in this draft, and this feels like the effort from the front office to solve any remaining questions at guard no matter how many bodies they have to throw at it. Unfortunately for me, the late guard that I wanted, Connor Colby, went to the Niners a few selections after the Dellinger pick. Goodnight, sweet prince. It just wasn’t meant to be.

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