The Baltimore Ravens benefitted from great cornerback play in 2019. Marcus Peters and Marlon Humphrey both earned All-Pro nods and Jimmy Smith came back from a knee injury to bolster the group down the stretch. But this doesn’t mean the team won’t keep looking to improve their secondary, especially with how pass-heavy teams are in this era.
Baltimore needs more depth after declining Brandon Carr’s 2020 option. While the Ravens re-signed Smith, it was on a one-year contract. And when added in with Tavon Young missing all of last season due to a neck injury, the lack of depth behind that great starting group could seriously hurt Baltimore’s goal of a Super Bowl this season.
With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at the best cornerback options for the Ravens in each round of the 2020 NFL Draft.
1st Round – Trevon Diggs, Alabama
The Ravens have a long history of selecting players who spent their college careers with the Crimson Tide. They’ve taken 11 players from Alabama in their history, with four players taken between 2017 and 2018, including a first-round pick on Humprey back in 2017. If they want to use their first selection on a corner in 2020, then Diggs could be a possible target.
The younger brother of Bills wide receiver Stefon, Diggs earned Second-Team All-SEC honors in 2019, thanks to his 11 passes defended and three interceptions. Diggs has the prototypical length for the position. He primarily played outside in college, although he did spend some time in the slot. Diggs could also be an asset on special teams, after averaging 9.2 yards per punt return and 23.8 yards on kick-off returns.
Diggs is far from the finished product, but if given the chance to come in and learn his craft rather than being forced to be the alpha from Day 1, he could develop into a solid NFL cornerback.