The Baltimore Ravens’ Five Best Day 3 Draft Picks Since 2010

Strinking gold on a low-round prospect can do so much for a franchise, as these Ravens can prove.

Aug 13, 2015; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Ravens fullback Kyle Juszczyk (44) carries the ball during the first quarter against the New Orleans Saints in a preseason NFL football game at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images | Amber Searls-Imagn Images

Day 3 of the NFL Draft is when the real magic happens. 

With most of the audience and a big chunk of the media covering the three-day event gone, team scouts pound the table for their guys, convinced they’ve got a diamond in the rough. A lot of the time, they’re right.

Since 2010, when the NFL adopted a three-day format for its draft, the Ravens have struck gold in the last four rounds a number of times. Here are their five best finds:

Matt Judon, Linebacker, Fifth Round, 146th Overall 2016

The last really good pass rusher drafted by the Ravens, Judon got picked up in the fifth round of 2016 out of Grand Valley State. He became a full-time starter by his second season, starting opposite Terrell Suggs, and earned his first two of four total Pro Bowl nods in Baltimore, for whom he played for five years before moving on to New England. 

After playing a season under the franchise tag, Baltimore decided they couldn’t afford the up-and-coming linebacker and reluctantly let him walk as a free agent.  

Kyle Juszczyk, Fullback, Fourth Round, 130th Overall 2013

Could it be that fullbacks are back in again? Not likely as a league-wide trend, but Juszczyk has certainly become one the position’s most well-known faces during his time in San Francisco. 

However, he started out as a fourth-round pick for the Ravens, with whom he played for four seasons. The Harvard product played in all 64 games during his four-year stint in Baltimore, starting 32, and quickly made a name for himself as successor to Vonta Leach and lead blocker for Ray Rice and Justin Forsett, earning the first of his 10 Pro Bowl nods during his final season as a Raven, in ‘16.

Za’Darius Smith, Linebacker, Fourth Round, 122nd Overall 2015

One year before finding Judon, the Ravens snatched Smith out of Kentucky in the fourth. Mostly a rotational player during his four seasons in Baltimore, Smith got a bit overshadowed by Judon, though he still managed 8.5 sacks in 2018, when he started eight of 16 contests. 

He really broke out next season, with Green Bay, to the tune of 13.5 sacks, and capturing the first of his three Pro Bowl invitations. He played his best ball after leaving the Ravens, but finding him is still Baltimore merit.

Isaiah Likely, Tight End, Fourth Round, 139th Overall 2022

One of the common denominators for the Ravens’ third-day gems is that they come from schools not known as football factories, and Likeley out of Coastal Carolina is a good example. 

For four years in Baltimore, Likely became a perfect complement for Mark Andrews and a big play waiting to happen for Lamar Jackson. 

His best season came in 2024, when he started nine games, caught 42 passes for 477 yards and six touchdowns, all personal bests. He moved on to the Giants following former Ravens' head coach John Harbaugh during this offseason.

Brent Urban, Defensive End, Fourth Round, 134th Overall 2015

One of the most reliable role players that Baltimore has added over the past few years, Urban was even brought back for a second stint in Baltimore.

Originally a fourth-round find out of Virginia, the Canadian-born Urban saw his career heavily impacted by injuries early on. A torn ACL as a rookie, and torn biceps in 2015, along with a Lisfranc injury in 2017 meant he played in only 25 of 64 possible games throughout his first four campaigns. 

After spending some time in Tennessee, Chicago and Dallas, he returned to Baltimore in 2022. Currently a free agent, playing one more year for the Ravens isn’t off the table.