Ravens 2025 CB Assessment: Running It Back Despite Some Warts

Most years any offseason assessment of the Ravens by position would be skewed to the cornerback room.

Few NFL executives have more of a personnel fetish than the one Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta has for corners. He loves to draft them in multiples and select them in the first round and collect them via free agency (especially if they have a prior first-round pedigree) at all times of the year.

And after years and years of that accumulation left them looking short at this spot – both in the slot and on the boundary – DeCosta showed uncharacteristic restraint (or perhaps a naivety about the depth and quality of this position group) this offseason, abstaining from trades, making just one signing (bringing back Chidobe Awuzie one a cheap, one-year deal) and using just one of his 11 draft picks on a defensive back.

It was odd to be sure, and most likely a heavy nod to the wizardry of new head coach Jesse Minter’s defensive scheme, which thrived with the Chargers despite not investing heavy draft capital inn corners. And, a year after totally ignoring a massive pass rush issue that DeCosta allowed to fester and torpedo the 2025 season, the abundant resources being throw at the defensive line should put quarterbacks under more pressure and thus put the corners in better position to succeed.

Bottom line, as presently constructed, they are going to need Awuzie to be as stellar and healthy as he was a year ago, and they are going to require a significant improvement from former Pro Bowler Marlon Humphrey, who was absolutely a liability last year - and young corner Nate Wiggins, whose performance nosedived in the second half of the season.

Key Contracts

Starters:

Humphrey $19.25M cash ($26.3M cap): Good luck getting this level of production out of him. He is one of the 10 highest-paid corners in the NFL for the upcoming season and the Ravens already picked up his $4M bonus, so they don’t wield much of a hammer. He needs to be playing far more frequently in the slot, and perhaps all the three-safety sets will help with that, because the corner personnel could end up being thin.

Wiggins $1.9M cash ($3.5M cap): There is natural talent here and natural man-coverage skills. But he needs to make more plays on the ball and his slight frame is always going to be something of a concern in run support. He was drafted to be an impact guy and given where Humphrey is pushing 30, he’d better be.

Back-Ups:

Awuzie $5M cash ($5M cap): He may not end up playing as many reps as the starters but it will probably be close enough. They are going to be in nickel and dime a ton under Minter and Awuzie got some of the tougher match-ups late last season. At this stage of his career, he’s not an every down guy. Should be a great fit in this scheme.

TJ Tampa $1.1M cash ($1.3M cap): He has the size and levers than Minter looks for ideally in his corners. The Ravens will be playing way less man coverage now that Zach Orr is no longer calling plays (and they actually have some pass rushers) and Tampa is a natural zone corner who could get more of a looksee this season.

Others To Know:

Chandler Rivers: The fifth-round pick has a very different body type and skillset than the guys ahead of him on the depth chart and will provide some of the attributes guys like Arthur Maulet and Tavon Young did here in the past.

Prognosis For 2026 – Good Enough

Minter and his staff know how to coach this position up and put players in position to succeed and not try to demand they do things they aren’t cut out to do. I buy the upside of Tampa, which is why I don’t see this position group as one that is absolutely going to demand further attention this summer (unlike center and pass catcher). But there are injury warts with a lot of these guys, and is those rise to the surface again it could change the entire complexion of this defense.

Prognosis Beyond 2026 – Needs Significant Attention

Humphrey is in the same spot of his career as left tackle Ronnie Stanley; and we look at corner very much like LT in that if you made me do a ridiculous mock draft right now they would selecting a player at one of those two positions. Trying to squeeze another year out of guys who tease you enough with their talent to make you think you can get the health and consistency you need from these positions can be a dangerous game to play.

Projections

This is it for Marlon. It seems like everyone kinda knows it, which makes his absence this offseason noteworthy. Defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver hinted at the drop in form. How much is he in the slot? We could see Wiggins having the kind of year the Ravens had in mind when they draft him, and they have a pedigree for evaluating this position. It’s almost impossible for this position group to be as troublesome as it was a year ago.

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