Three Late-Round Sleepers The Ravens Can’t Afford To Miss In The NFL Draft

The Ravens are going to have to lean into addressing certain position groups in this draft no matter how much they might outwardly suggest they just want to take the best player available.

There are way more holes in this roster than usual and there is major work that needs to be done at critical position groups. The offensive line and defensive line – meat and potatoes – need multiple swings in their direction, and with four picks in the fifth round, thanks to the comp pick formula, day three and priority un-drafted free agents can make a difference. Even if they don’t keep them all.

The Ravens pride themselves on having a UDFA make the team every year, and Day Three could be much more of a land of opportunity than we are accustomed to. The Ravens would do well to lean into some of these options, who have caught the attention of some keep evaluators and will be getting high marks from their college coaches, some of whom this front office clearly thinks very highly of.

Pat Coogan, C, Indiana

All this young man did is help quarterback Fernando Mendoza blossom into the first-overall pick in the draft and help a program in the absolute abyss of the NCAA a few years back win a national title. How many interior linemen are named the MVP of any bowl game, let alone the Rose Bowl? Began his college career at Notre Dame, a program the Ravens are wired into. They just hired the Notre Dame secondary coach here. Coogan also has abundant starts at left guard. Super smart and coaches love him. Might not have ideal flexibility but could be a serviceable backup at a number of positions perhaps sooner rather than late, and in case you hadn’t heard Ravens center Tyler Linderbaum left as a free agent to become the highest-paid at his position in the league.

Marlin Klein, TE, Michigan

Up until a few years ago, Ravens coach Jesse Minter was running the Michigan defense. Jim Harbaugh took a flier on this kid out of Germany, who played most of his high school football in Germany, and while he is still raw, he didn’t shrink any, Klein has NFL speed and is developing an NFL body at 6-6. Must get stronger but scouts like his hands and, like Coogan, he is a winner - a part of a national title team. Don’t expect him to block much and his route running will continue to improve.

Karson Sharar, LB, Iowa

You know who is leading the charge for teams to invest in Sharar? Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz, a former Ravens coach who is very close to GM Eric DeCosta. A late bloomer who just really started playing last season, his 4.56 time in the 40 will get attention. Ravens need interesting pieces to add to the LB room and this kid will help out on special teams right away. Expected by some to be a priority free agent, but has the 10th-best athletic score among all 2026 draft-eligible linebackers. Scouts rave about his instincts given how little he saw the field. Hmm.

Ferentz told ESPN about him: "All he lacks is significant playing time, because he's very fast, he can get to the ball, very explosive kid, likes playing. He'll be interesting. There's a lot of value in whoever takes him, and he'll play special teams right away. He's a pretty gifted guy."

Subscribe On YouTube For The Best Ravens Coverage:

Add us as a preferred source on Google