Eric DeCosta has helped keep the Baltimore Ravens among the NFL’s most talented rosters by attacking premium positions and leaning on the organization’s draft-and-develop foundation.
Since becoming general manager in 2019, DeCosta has used first-round picks on wide receivers, defensive backs, offensive linemen, linebackers, and edge rushers. Some became immediate franchise cornerstones. Others flashed early, departed in trades or free agency, or remain in the prove-it stage of their careers. The result is a fascinating first-round résumé that includes All-Pros, Pro Bowlers, starters, traded assets, and one new selection who has not yet played an NFL game.
This ranking weighs production, value to Baltimore, individual honors, positional importance, roster impact, and long-term return on investment.
1. Kyle Hamilton
Kyle Hamilton is the best first-round pick of the DeCosta era and one of the best defensive players in football. The Ravens selected him with the No. 14 overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft, and he quickly became the type of versatile defender who can shape an entire defensive system.
Hamilton has already earned multiple Pro Bowl selections and his second AP first-team All-Pro honor, joining Hall of Famer Ed Reed as the only Ravens defensive backs to earn multiple Pro Bowl nods within the first three years of a career. His ability to play deep, cover tight ends, blitz, fit the run, and align near the line of scrimmage makes him the centerpiece of Anthony Weaver’s defense. Everything Baltimore wants to disguise and create on defense starts with Hamilton’s versatility.
2. Zay Flowers
Flowers has quickly become the best offensive skill-position first-round pick of the DeCosta era. Baltimore traded up to land the Boston College standout in 2023, and he immediately gave Lamar Jackson the type of separation ability, quickness, and yards-after-catch talent the Ravens had been searching for at wide receiver.
Flowers caught 77 passes for 858 yards and six touchdowns as a rookie in 2023, then followed his fast start by earning back-to-back Pro Bowl nods. His rise matters because Baltimore has spent years trying to stabilize the wide receiver position around Jackson. Flowers has become the top option in the room and one of the clearest first-round wins of DeCosta’s tenure.
3. Tyler Linderbaum
Linderbaum was selected with the No. 25 overall pick in 2022 and quickly became one of the NFL’s best centers. He was the first Ravens offensive lineman to earn consecutive Pro Bowl honors since Orlando Brown Jr. did it in 2019 and 2020, and his athleticism, leverage, and intelligence made him an ideal fit for Baltimore’s run-heavy offensive identity.
His departure lowers the long-term value of the pick from Baltimore’s perspective, especially after he joined the Raiders as the highest-paid center in NFL history. Still, Linderbaum delivered elite play for the Ravens on his rookie contract and became one of the best players at his position before leaving. That production keeps him near the top of this ranking.
4. Patrick Queen
Queen’s Ravens tenure had an uneven start, but his development alongside Roquan Smith turned him into one of the better first-round returns of the DeCosta era. Selected 28th overall out of LSU in 2020, Queen eventually became a Pro Bowl linebacker and a key part of one of the NFL’s best defenses.
His best season in Baltimore came in 2023, when he made his first Pro Bowl after recording 125 tackles, 78 solo stops, 3.5 sacks, nine tackles for loss, six passes defensed, one interception, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery. Queen also became the only NFL defender to produce at least 400 tackles, double-digit sacks, and double-digit takeaways from 2020 through that span. He now plays for the Steelers, but his final years with the Ravens made the pick a success.
5. Hollywood Brown
Brown was DeCosta’s first first-round pick as general manager, selected No. 25 overall in 2019 out of Oklahoma. He gave Baltimore a needed speed element and became the Ravens’ leading wide receiver before the team eventually traded him to the Arizona Cardinals.
Brown’s best season in Baltimore came in 2021, when he caught 91 passes for 1,008 yards and six touchdowns. Across three seasons with the Ravens, he posted 195 catches for 2,361 yards and 21 touchdowns. Baltimore later traded Brown and the No. 100 pick to Arizona for the No. 23 overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft, turning him into both productive receiving value and future draft capital. His departure prevents him from ranking higher, but the pick produced meaningful returns.
6. Nate Wiggins
Wiggins still has room to climb this list, but his early returns have been encouraging. The 2024 first-round pick was the Ravens’ highest-graded rookie and looked like a future star after recording 33 tackles while playing 15 games during his rookie season.
Wiggins logged 769 defensive snaps, the seventh most on a Ravens defense that struggled against the pass early but improved down the stretch. He also started each of Baltimore’s playoff games, a strong sign of trust for a rookie cornerback. Cornerback is one of the NFL’s most valuable positions, and if Wiggins continues developing, he could eventually push into the top half of this list.
7. Malaki Starks
Starks gave the Ravens a solid rookie season after arriving as a 2025 first-round pick from Georgia. He started 15 of the 17 games he appeared in, logging 1,060 defensive snaps, 84 total tackles, 49 solo stops, and four passes defensed, including two interceptions.
Starks finished his rookie season with the third-most interceptions and fourth-most total tackles on the Ravens’ defense. He is not Hamilton, but he was a steady first-year starter and gave Baltimore another young defensive back with range and versatility. The next step is improving coverage after finishing with a 64.9 PFF coverage grade. If that part of his game takes a leap, Starks has Pro Bowl upside.
8. Rashod Bateman
Bateman remains one of the most complicated first-round picks of DeCosta’s tenure. The Ravens selected him with the No. 27 overall pick in 2021, and his talent has never been the issue. He has size, route-running ability, and flashes of outside receiver production, but injuries and inconsistency have limited his overall impact.
After a career year in 2024, Bateman’s 2025 season was a step back. He played 13 games with 12 starts but finished with 38 targets, 19 receptions, 224 receiving yards, and two touchdowns. Baltimore still has him under contract through 2029, which gives him time to reestablish himself, but the arrival of more young receivers has increased the urgency. Bateman can still change the narrative, but his résumé places him near the bottom for now.
9. Odafe Oweh
Oweh was one of the most athletic prospects in the 2021 draft, and Baltimore took him with the No. 31 overall pick out of Penn State. At 6-foot-5 and 251 pounds, he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.37 seconds, giving the Ravens a rare traits-based pass-rushing prospect with enormous physical upside.
The challenge is that Oweh was still relatively new to football when Baltimore drafted him, and his production never fully matched his athletic profile. He offered flashes, speed off the edge, and developmental value, but the Ravens did not get the consistent high-end pass rush that teams hope to find in the first round. In a ranking that includes All-Pros, Pro Bowlers, and immediate starters, Oweh lands near the bottom.
10. Vega Ioane
Ioane was the No. 14 selection in the 2026 NFL draft, but he has not yet played an NFL game. That makes him impossible to rank above players who have already produced for Baltimore.
His placement at the bottom is not a judgment on his future. The Ravens drafted him to become a Day 1 starter at offensive guard, and his importance increased after Tyler Linderbaum’s departure left Baltimore reshaping the interior offensive line. Ioane has the draft status and opportunity to climb quickly, but for now, he remains an incomplete grade.
Final ranking
- Kyle Hamilton
- Zay Flowers
- Tyler Linderbaum
- Patrick Queen
- Marquise Brown
- Nate Wiggins
- Malaki Starks
- Rashod Bateman
- Odafe Oweh
- Vega Ioane
DeCosta’s first-round résumé has produced one elite defensive centerpiece in Hamilton, a true No. 1 wide receiver in Flowers, a Pro Bowl center in Linderbaum, a Pro Bowl linebacker in Queen, and several young starters who still have room to climb. Brown gave Baltimore both production and trade value, while Wiggins and Starks are still building their cases in the secondary.
The bigger question now is whether Bateman can revive his trajectory, whether Wiggins and Starks can become long-term defensive cornerstones, and whether Ioane can quickly justify a top-15 investment. If those players hit, DeCosta’s first-round record will look even stronger.
This article originally appeared on Ravens Wire: Ranking Eric DeCosta’s Ravens first-round draft picks
