Many NFL pundits believe that Ravens rookie cornerback T.J. Tampa may become “the steal of the draft.” Baltimore took him out of Iowa State in the fourth round, at pick No. 130.
Tampa had been projected as a day-two guy, and almost no draftnik expected him to fall past the middle of round three.
The Ravens’ talented rookie and former Iowa State star took a break from rookie offseason conditioning to speak with us by phone on Monday, and we asked him why he feels he took a dive in the 2024 NFL Draft.
“I’m not too sure, it could have been a lot of different things,” he said exclusively to Ravens Wire.
“I don’t really know what they were thinking. Maybe it was (my) not doing anything at the combine, or maybe my 40 time, whatever that ended up being.”
The draft snubbing will, of course, provide added fuel in the drive to succeed this season.
“It definitely put a chip on my shoulder, going through this process,” he said.
“So when my name is called I can show everybody what I got.”
The 22-year-old Norristown, PA native is currently working out with the other Ravens rookies. He will only get about a week off to chill this summer, and during that period, he’ll visit his family in West Palm Beach, FL.
Rookies report to Ravens training camp on July 13. Tampa has teamed up with Zebra Sports, which has a wearable tech that has provided the NFL’s ball and player tracking metrics for the past ten years.
“Once the start of the season comes, I’ll be able to see my real player stats and how my stats link up with other players in the NFL, to see how quick and fast I am when compared to them.”
“Technology is in everything on the field, so it helps with ball speed, top speed, acceleration. They have next gen stats- you’ll see it when it tracks speed.”
According to Tampa, he’s already recorded a top speed north of 21 mph. He said he didn’t become a cornerback until 2020 and then articulated what specific player inspired him.
“I watched a lot of Jalen Ramsey when I first started playing corner,” he said.
That’s who I tried to model my game after, just being into the position.”
Ramsey, arguably the best cover corner in the game today, is a seven-time Pro Bowler and three-time first-team All-Pro.
Tampa is aiming very high, and that conveys just how much ambition he has.