The NFL draft carries plenty of emotion as it unfolds, especially for the participating teams. Unforeseen scenarios, puzzling picks, and plenty of other things can happen for draft weekend, making it highly unpredictable.
When explaining his emotions on Day 1 of the 2024 NFL draft, Ravens defensive coordinator Zach Orr revealed mixed feelings during the night. He talked about how he hoped no one selected their first-rounder in cornerback Nate Wiggins, but nervousness quickly turned to joy when the team could turn the card in.
“It was kind of mixed emotions. Firs thing, I was like ‘Man, I hope no one else picks him before it gets to us.’ But, it was great. [I] just started getting excited because we knew he was our guy. Like Chris [Hewitt] talked about, seeing the process of the whole scouting department led by Eric [DeCosta] and Ozzie [Newsome], just seeing those guys work and seeing the whole process play out where Nate [Wiggins] was falling to us. When we knew we had a chance to get him – you saw how fast that pick was turned in. It was joy in the draft room. We were so excited. We felt like we got the best defensive player in the draft.”
Wiggins was one of the premier cornerback prospects in the 2024 rookie class and should have a big role in his first year as a Raven. Orr praised him highly, calling him the best defensive player in the draft, and he will have plenty of opportunities to show why on game days.