Following the retirement of veteran nose tackle Michael Pierce this offseason and with Travis Jones heading into the final year of his rookie contract, the Baltimore Ravens need to reinforce and replenish their ranks along the interior of their defensive line.
During a pre-draft press conference on Tuesday, general manager Eric DeCosta proclaimed that adding to the unit will “certainly be a priority” and fortunately, the 2025 crop of incoming defensive trench players is “fairly deep” by both his estimation and those of all the most prominent draft analysts.
“We’ve always been a team that wants to be big and strong and powerful on both sides of the line, both sides of the ball,” DeCosta said. “I think there’s an opportunity to get better on the defensive line for sure.”
This year’s class of defensive linemen is littered with players who can come in and contribute right away as specific role players, rotational pieces and even Day 1 starters if needed. The Ravens will be able to land difference-makers and quality depth pieces throughout, especially in the early and middle rounds.
Pierce wasn’t just a space-eating one-technique who was integral to the Ravens’ top-ranked rush defense last season when he was healthy: he was also an underrated interior pass rusher who could generate pressures and flush the quarterback as well as take on and shed blocks to gobble up ball carriers for little to no gain.
Some prospects they could target to replace him from a run-stuffing standpoint include Michigan’s Kenneth Grant in the late first round, Ohio State’s Tyleik Williams and Texas’ Alfred Collins on Day 2, and Indiana’s CJ West and Maryland’s Jordan Phillips early on Day 3.
When it comes to prospects who can contribute right away as interior pass rushers, a pair of first-round targets could be Oregon’s Derrick Harmon and Ole Miss’ Walter Nolen. A trio of prime Day 2 targets include Toledo’s Darius Alexander, South Carolina’s T.J. Sanders and Texas A&M’s Shemar Turner. An early Day 3 option who could prove to be a gem and whose only knock is being undersized is Virginia Tech’s Aeneas Peebles.
