{"id":52467,"date":"2025-05-31T07:04:04","date_gmt":"2025-05-31T07:04:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=52467"},"modified":"2025-05-31T07:04:04","modified_gmt":"2025-05-31T07:04:04","slug":"ravens-relentless-udfa-named-a-rookie-to-watch-in-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=52467","title":{"rendered":"Ravens \u2018Relentless\u2019 UDFA Named a \u2018Rookie to Watch\u2019 in 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div id=\"post-featured\" class=\"wp-caption \">\n<div class=\"h-responsive\">\n<figure class=\"h-responsive__inner\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"attachment-featured-image size-featured-image wp-post-image\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-2190565061-e1748479857784.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 820px) 95vw, 780px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-2190565061-e1748479857784.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780 780w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-2190565061-e1748479857784.jpg?quality=15&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-2190565061-e1748479857784.jpg?quality=35&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1350 1350w\" alt=\"John Harbaugh\" width=\"780\" height=\"439\" data-img-load-time=\"1494\" data-dom-ready-time=\"1654\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"caption-credit\">Getty<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"c-post-image-caption-text\">John Harbaugh knows the next Baltimore Ravens player who will be named All-Pro.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The\u00a0Baltimore Ravens\u00a0have one of the most talented rosters in the league entering the 2025 NFL season, but that doesn\u2019t mean hidden gems can\u2019t emerge from the most recent crop of undrafted free agents (UDFA).<\/p>\n<p>Well, one NFL analyst believes a Ravens UDFA is a \u2018rookie to watch\u2019 throughout the next few months leading up to the season.<\/p>\n<h2>Kaimon Rucker Named a Rookie to Watch Entering 2025 NFL Season<\/h2>\n<p>The Ravens may have selected the polarizing EDGE prospect from Marshall, Mike Green, in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft in an attempt improve the pass-rushing talent for this Baltimore defense, but Chris Trapasso of CBS Sports believes Ravens\u2019 undrafted free agent EDGE Kaimon Rucker from North Carolina is a \u2018rookie to watch\u2019 entering the 2025 NFL season.<\/p>\n<p>Trapasso wrote, \u201cKaimon Rucker is a throwback, stand-up rusher on the outside with a 6-foot-1, 254-pound frame. There are length deficiencies to his game, yet he plays with unsurprising leverage given his frame and will stun offensive tackles with his speed-to-power conversion at times. In his final two seasons at North Carolina, the relentless outside rusher generated 91 pressures on 604 pass-rush snaps.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Trapasso touched on some of Rucker\u2019s production as a member of the Tar Heels, but a closer look may be worth the time.<\/p>\n<p>Rucker produced 22 sacks over his 58 games at North Carolina, which is solid production but wasn\u2019t elite by any stretch. His sack production dropped from 8.5 in 2023 to 6.0 in 2024, but Rucker did appear in five fewer games last year than his 2023 campaign.<\/p>\n<p>Rucker did manage to register a total of exactly 100 total tackles at Chapel Hill with 39 of those being for a loss, which is the type of explosive playmaking ability the Ravens are hoping to add on the edge.<\/p>\n<p>Trapasso added, \u201cBaltimore\u2019s defense was fantastic a season ago, but its pass rush was lackluster. If Rucker proves to be an annoyance for the opposition this summer, he could sneak his way onto the 53-man roster or be first in line for a practice-squad elevation during the season. He plays with a lot of fire.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Does Kaimon Rucker Have a Real Shot at a Roster Spot in 2025?<\/h2>\n<p>A big factor working against Kaimon Rucker landing a roster spot entering the 2025 NFL season is the fact both Kyle Van Noy and Odafe Oweh are coming off of career years, which rightfully make them the projected starters.<\/p>\n<p>Past the veterans, the aforementioned Mike Green is also expected to factor into the edge rotation in his rookie year. The Marshall product was widely regarded as a first-round talent the Ravens landed at a bargain due to some off-field concerns entering the NFL Draft.<\/p>\n<p>Yet, once we get past those three names\u2026 There is a possibility that a strong training camp and preseason from Rucker could put him in the conversation for a roster spot this season.<\/p>\n<p>Names like Tavius Robinson, David Ojabo, and Adisa Isaac are all names who stand in his way at this time.<\/p>\n<p>Rucker has a unique prospect with physical limitations in his profile, but possesses a valuable skillset for a defense that is accustomed to playing with a lead and could use pass-rushing specialists.<\/p>\n<p>Rucker\u2019s task won\u2019t be easy, but he is a player worth keeping an eye on entering the NFL preseason.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Getty John Harbaugh knows the next Baltimore Ravens player who will be named All-Pro. The\u00a0Baltimore Ravens\u00a0have one of the most talented rosters in the league entering the&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":52468,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-52467","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Ravens \u2018Relentless\u2019 UDFA Named a \u2018Rookie to Watch\u2019 in 2025 - 24\/7 News America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=52467\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ravens \u2018Relentless\u2019 UDFA Named a \u2018Rookie to Watch\u2019 in 2025 - 24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Getty John Harbaugh knows the next Baltimore Ravens player who will be named All-Pro. 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