The Ravens’ rookie class is about to get its first real test.
When Baltimore’s 2026 training camp gets rolling at the end of next week, the first-year players will be in the mix right away, along with the quarterbacks and injured players. Five days later, they’ll be in pads for the first time as pros on July 29, when practice opens to fans and the media.
That matters for this group. After a wildly disappointing 2025 season that fell far short of the team’s preseason expectations and triggered major organizational changes, several rookies are already lined up for meaningful jobs or real competition across all three phases.
Start up front with Ioane, the Ravens’ first-round pick and the only rookie locked into a starting role from Day 1. Because he plays in the trenches, camp in pads should finally give everyone a full look at what he can do.
Even before contact was allowed during the offseason program, he was drawing praise for his physicality and professionalism. Now he gets the chance to show whether he can be the upgrade over the much-maligned Daniel Faalele at right guard.
Young, the second-round pick, brings a similar kind of appeal. He’s another trench player, and his game is built on strength, power and physicality at the point of attack.
With full contact on the table, he’ll have the stage to show exactly why the Ravens brought him in. With fourth-year pro Tavius Robinson in the final year of his rookie deal, Young could start working his way into a larger role as an early-down run defender and subpackage interior pass rusher.
The receiver group is where things get crowded. Baltimore drafted Lane and Sarratt back-to-back in the middle rounds, and both arrive with the kind of profile that can help right away: contested-catch ability, playmaking juice and enough versatility to handle more than one job. They’ve already shown more varied route trees and broader skill sets than their college tape might have suggested, and both have been willing to do whatever the team asks.
Their battle is with each other and with third-year pro Devontez Walker for the No. 3 receiver job, the first option off the bench when the Ravens go to 11 personnel. Once the pads come on and defensive backs can really challenge them at the catch point, the competition gets serious. That’s when the question becomes whether either rookie can win against an NFL secondary.
Tight end could turn into a similar fight. Baltimore doubled up at the position in the draft for the fifth time in franchise history, and history says usually only one rookie ends up carving out a real role while the other mostly works on special teams, assuming he stays healthy. This time, neither Hibner nor Cuevas is dealing with an injury entering camp, so both will get a fair shot to prove they deserve more than a supporting role behind ninth-year veterans Mark Andrews and Durham Smythe.
There’s a path for both to matter. Hibner could help make up for the loss of pass-catching specialist Isaiah Likely, while Cuevas has the kind of versatility that could turn him into a dynamic H-back in the mold of how the San Francisco 49ers use former Ravens fullback Kyle Juszczyk.
At running back, the depth chart looks settled at the top with Derrick Henry starting and Justice Hill rotating as both a strong pass protector and a reliable checkdown option. Still, the rookie there will draw plenty of attention. He was handpicked by team owner Steve Bisciotti, and his background makes him especially intriguing: a converted college receiver who played just one season at running back for Clemson, but brings size and pass-catching upside to the table.
That gives him a chance to show more than just power as a ball carrier. The Ravens will want to see whether he can also function as a route runner and a mismatch threat out of the backfield.
The fifth-round rookie in the secondary is another name worth tracking. He was one of the top nickel prospects in the class and, according to many pundits, should have gone off the board much earlier. Camp will be his chance to show the competitiveness and toughness that made him such an appealing fit, whether he’s tackling, covering or contributing on special teams.
There’s also a chance for a rookie to make noise on the defensive front early. With no official word yet on whether two-time Pro Bowler Nnamdi Madubuike will be cleared to start camp, and with veteran six-time Pro Bowler Calais Campbell dealing with a recent family tragedy, the seventh-round rookie could get opportunities sooner than expected.
On the offensive line, the undrafted free agent who profiles as a massive developmental blindside protector will finally get to prove why he was considered a potential fourth-round pick before slipping through the cracks. He enters camp with a real opening to show the other 31 teams made a mistake.
Another undrafted rookie could also push for a role in the middle of the line. Former undrafted free agent Corey Bullock is recovering from recent surgery, and this rookie already has chemistry with Ioane from their Penn State days. That connection could help him emerge as a dark horse in the center competition.
At quarterback, the path is narrower. The undrafted former Heisman finalist was outperformed by veteran Skylar Thompson during OTAs and minicamp, so the handful of reps he gets will matter. He’s trying to build a case for the No. 3 job behind the top two, and the Ravens are expected to keep only two quarterbacks on the 53-man roster anyway.
But they will carry a third quarterback on the practice squad, which means Pavia is in a direct fight with Thompson and fellow rookie Joe Fagnano for that developmental and emergency role.
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