Reddick and Griffin weren’t alone in endorsing the Ravens’ number of Wiggins. The decide acquired common reward and excessive grades from pundits:
Sporting News’ Vinnie Iyer: “Grade: A. The Ravens are able to push ahead at nook, the place they wanted some depth behind Marlon Humphrey and a possible improve from Brandon Stephens outdoors. They needed to seize a falling Wiggins for his dimension, speedy, and savvy playmaking.”
Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar: “Grade: A. The Ravens like aggressive cornerbacks, and there aren’t too many extra aggressive cornerbacks on this class than Wiggins, who will press and match and carry receivers everywhere in the subject. He’s not the most important man at 6′ 1⅜” and 173 kilos, so possibly he’ll must down a number of crab muffins when he hits city, however the whole lot else is on level.”
The Athletic’s Nick Baumgardner: “Grade: A-. One of the quickest gamers on the board (4.28 on the mix), Wiggins is quick off the road of scrimmage and likewise possesses wonderful second-level velocity — making him extremely tough to beat vertically. Wiggins’ size at 6 ft 1 with near-31-inch arms can also be a plus, as he received his fingers on 25 passes during the last two seasons at Clemson. The query marks listed below are dimension and energy. Wiggins was 173 kilos on the NFL Scouting Combine earlier than reporting a 182-pound weight later at his professional day. He was primarily an outside-only nook in school, and there are questions on how a lot he may give a crew towards the run. A primary-round expertise on this draft, although, to make sure.”
The thirty third Team’s Ian Valentino: “Grade: A-. This is a robust match that we regularly mocked. The Baltimore Ravens wanted playmaking on the place, and Nate Wiggins brings velocity and energy. He’s a perfect man protection choice for a unit missing high-end expertise throughout Marlon Humphrey.”
The Nashville Tennessean’s Nick Gray: “Grade: A-. From a traits standpoint, Wiggins can wow with velocity and athleticism. He’s a prepared and aggressive cowl nook who matches Baltimore’s protection.”
Ebony Bird’s Mike Luciano: Grade: A-. The secondary was elite final 12 months, and including Wiggins will assist maintain it that method in a passing league. … Wiggins is a top-shelf athlete who may simply turn out to be a Pro Bowler if he dips into his reservoir of expertise. Baltimore landed a Top-20 participant at No. 30, and that is a win for all concerned.”
CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco: “Grade: B+. They have a necessity at nook and Wiggins is likely to be the perfect cowl participant of all of them. He is not a terrific tackler, however he can lock on and play press man of their protection. He simply wants to enhance his tackling.”
The Ringer’s Danny Kelly: “Grade: B+. It feels just like the Ravens sit again and scoop up good gamers within the again finish of the primary spherical yearly, they usually did it once more right here. Wiggins is wiry skinny and weighed in at simply 173 kilos on the mix, however he brings electrical velocity (4.28-second 40-yard sprint) and performs with instincts in protection. He’s a plug-and-play starter on the surface reverse Marlon Humphrey.”
NFL.com’s Chad Reuter: “Grade: B. Wiggins’ restoration velocity stood out on tape and was confirmed with a 4.28-second 40-yard sprint on the NFL Scouting Combine. He’s not a bodily tackler however is aggressive on the catch level. Wiggins weighed simply 173 kilos (measuring 6-foot-1 3/8 inch) on the mix, which is harking back to final 12 months’s lean first-round nook for Washington, Emmanuel Forbes, who struggled as a rookie.”
Sports Illustrated’s Matt Verderame: “Grade: B-. Wiggins is an distinctive athlete. He’s additionally undersized at 6’1″ and 173 kilos, a weight which undoubtedly had some groups taking him off their boards. That stated, Wiggins can all the time overcome many points along with his 4.28 40-yard sprint, together with an excellent weight program on the subsequent degree.”
Pro Football Focus: “Grade: Good. The Ravens choose the prolonged however gentle Wiggins to play alongside Marlon Humphrey and Kyle Hamilton of their secondary. Wiggins’ closing velocity is elite, and he confirmed good press capability in school regardless of his body. He led the ACC with an 89.4 PFF protection grade during the last two seasons. If he can deal with NFL receivers’ play energy, he has immense potential.”
ESPN’s Jamison Hensley: “The Ravens could not consider that Wiggins, considered one of their top-20 rated gamers, was nonetheless on the board on the backside of the primary spherical. Ravens General Manager Eric DeCosta turned down eight affords to commerce again as a result of they beloved Wiggins a lot. Wiggins, who was the second-fastest participant at this 12 months’s NFL mix, solely allowed 176 yards to receivers in 10 video games final season. He has the velocity to match up towards the likes of Bengals receiver Ja’Marr Chase. The Ravens can use Wiggins and Brandon Stephens as their outdoors cornerbacks and shift bodily Marlon Humphrey into the slot. It simply received harder to maneuver the ball towards a Baltimore protection that allowed the fewest factors within the league final season.”
The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec: “Wiggins is a wise decide who carries loads of upside. He provides much-needed high quality depth within the current and provides the crew an anticipated starter sooner or later.”
Wacker: “A file run of 14 consecutive offensive gamers going off the board to begin the draft meant that the Ravens had a juicy bounty of defensive choices by the point they have been on the clock with the thirtieth decide, which is how they extremely ended up with Clemson cornerback Nate Wiggins. At 6 ft 1 and 173 kilos, he’s slight, however he can fly.”
Baltimore Beatdown’s Vasilis Lericos: “General Manager Eric DeCosta landed a bonafide steal with Wiggins late within the first spherical. The cowl nook with uncommon velocity and agility was mocked as a top-20 decide all through the draft cycle, however Baltimore, true to kind, was in a position to land the Clemson product at 30 total. Cornerback has arguably been the first place accountable for the Ravens’ defensive dynasty throughout the previous few a long time and Wiggins has the talent set to hold on that custom with sticky ‘seatbelt’ protection prowess that’s hardly ever out there past the lottery picks. Solid double with dwelling run potential is the Ozzie Newsome Ravens Way. If DeCosta can add a pair extra playmakers on Day 2 of the draft, the Ravens might be effectively ready for a rematch with the Chiefs subsequent postseason.”
Baltimore Beatdown’s Joshua Reed: “Patience paid off for General Manager Eric DeCosta and the Ravens once more as they landed arguably the perfect pure cowl cornerback on this 12 months’s class based on many pundits and DeCosta himself. On an evening dominated by offense, they got here away with large worth who could possibly be a possible perennial Pro Bowler. Wiggins possesses nice athleticism, velocity and pure protection capability and performs with relentless effort.”
Russell Street Report’s Chris Schisler: “The Ravens would have had good choices in the event that they traded again but they received the decide in shortly. That speaks to their confidence. Wiggins is a lanky-armed nook with a knack for making performs; it is onerous to not just like the decide. Wiggins ought to have most likely been taken earlier, however the Ravens received a steal on account of quarterback insanity taking up Round 1. On high of worth the Ravens simply received higher at a place of want. protection received higher.”
