Kyle Hamilton Predicts Big Jump For Ravens Rising Star

The Baltimore Ravens defense and team as a whole have understandably garnered a lot of hype and heightened expectations this offseason, given all the high-end talent they added to what was an already loaded roster. However, one of the players who has been generating the most buzz and lofty projections is second-year cornerback Nate Wiggins.

Coming off a strong rookie campaign where he not only established himself as starter for the Ravens but as one of the best young defensive backs in the league, the 2024 first-rounder has been a popular pick on the vast majority of breakout candidate lists. Wiggins regularly gets lofty praise and projections heaped on him from coaches, teammates and the media.

That trend continued last week when Ravens two-time Pro Bowl and All Pro safety Kyle Hamilton stepped to the podium following the third day of training camp practice and shared what he thinks of Wiggins and what he believes he is capable of.

“I think @WigginNathaniel’s going to be one of the best in the league.” @kyledhamilton_ pic.twitter.com/Qap5qkYQGo
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) July 25, 2025

"I think he's going to be one of the best in the league," Hamilton said. "Nate, he's one of those guys that's not afraid to line up against whoever, a nameless, faceless opponent. 'Line it up, and let's run it, ' [in] man [coverage], zone [coverage], whatever it may be, and today especially, he's competing at a high level. He's done that for the past three days, and [I'm] super excited to see what he does in Year Two. I think he's probably going to have one of the bigger jumps from last year [to] this year than anybody on the team."

The fourth-year pro knows what it's like to be a former first-round pick who experienced some growing pains early on as a rookie while getting adjusted to the NFL game, came on strong to close the season and dealt with a lot of hype surrounding him heading into his second season. In that hyperspecific way, he and Wiggins have very similar career arcs thus far.

As a rookie last year, Wiggins struggled with consistency and drawing penalties to start the regular season before emerging as a lockdown corner down the stretch whose role and impact on the defense grew. He went the whole regular season without giving up a touchdown, allowed the NFL's third-lowest percentage of targets that came in his direction to be completed at just 47.8% and his mark of -28.4 target expected points added was the best in the league. Including the playoffs, he appeared in 17 games and recorded 39 total tackles, 13 passes defensed, one forced fumble and a pick-six.

Nate Wiggins takes his first career interception to the crib!

📺: #CLEvsBAL on ESPN/ABC
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus and ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/X7qwgp4NiS
— NFL (@NFL) January 4, 2025

Wiggins shared on "The Lounge" podcast that one of his biggest goals for his sophomore campaign is to force double-digit turnovers. It is a feat that no Ravens defensive back has done since Ed Reed in 2010, and it is in lockstep with the desire to generate more takeaways that several of his coaches and teammates have been hammering throughout the offseason.

All reports and clips coming out of training camp thus far indicate that a slightly more muscular Wiggins has picked up where he left off with his upward trajectory and could be well on his way to living up to the constantly accumulating hype.

.@WigginNathaniel on fuego pic.twitter.com/PRE2gbnHdx
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) July 25, 2025

Last year, Wiggins played primarily on the left side and would come on the field to replace four-time Pro Bowl veteran Marlon Humphrey as the perimeter corner opposite of Brandon Stephens who covered the right boundary.

On Saturday, the final question second-year defensive coordinator Zach Orr answered during his post-practice presser was about the possibility of Wiggins developing into the type of corner that the Ravens believe can travel with opposing teams' top wide receivers. While he was noncommittal with his response, he did disclose that the Ravens are working all of their corners on both sides in training camp.

"That might be something that we do," Orr said. "Our guys, right now, they're playing left and right and rotating, so our guys are getting work on the right side, they're getting work on the left side, [and] they're getting work in the slot, which is good, but I think that that might be something we'll look into."

Hamilton didn't just live up to the enormous hype he faced heading into his second season; he far exceeded them by earning his first Pro Bowl nod and a First Team All Pro selection as the ultimate defensive chess piece for a top-ranked Ravens defense in 2023. Wiggins is surrounded by so much proven talent that even if he does improve significantly, it likely won't garner nearly the same amount of national recognition unless he delivers on his goal and forces a bevy of turnovers, even if he falls just short of double figures.

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