Observations From Ravens 2021 Rookie Minicamp
Teams wraps up second day of practice.
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May 15, 2021
OWINGS MILLS, Md. The Ravens had more than 20 young players gather at the Under Armour Performance Center for the first rookie minicamp since 2019.
Here are some observations from the session open to the media:
Wide receiver Rashod Bateman, the 27th overall selection in the draft, was smooth running routes. He s lean at 6-foot-1, 193 pounds, so he might need to add some muscle heading into training camp. He fielded punts under the close scrutiny of coaches and that could be an option for him as a rookie. Bateman clearly has the talent to make a first-year impact.
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Patrick Mahomes. Lamar Jackson. Travis Kelce. Mark Andrews. Tyreek Hill. Marcus Peters. Marlon Humphrey. Chris Jones. Calais Campbell. Tyrann Mathieu. Andy Reid. John Harbaugh. This game is absolutely chock full of stars on both sides of the ball. These teams have played memorable matchups in the recent past as well, so there’s a lot of history to draw on.
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This game might be more up your alley if you like defense. Some of the brightest defensive minds in the NFL will be doing battle in this game, with new Chargers coach Brandon Staley trying to devise a plan to stop Lamar Jackson, and Ravens defensive coordinator Don Martindale doing the same for Justin Herbert. There’s a whole lot of defensive-backfield talent involved here, plus some A-plus pass rushing.
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The days following the draft are filled with tremendous hope and hype where fans and pundits like to predict and project big rookie seasons for every one of them. However, that is often not the case because making the jump from college to the pros can be a steep and sometimes arduous one for first-year players.
With that in mind, here’s the second in a series of articles that detail realistic year one expectations for each member of the Baltimore Ravens 2021 draft class.
OLB Odafe Oweh
Round 1 No. 31 overall
The former Penn State Nittany Lion has arguably the highest upside of any member of the Ravens draft class and perhaps of any edge rusher in this year’s rookie crop. His elite athleticism is a big reason why, but so is the team he landed with where Defensive Coordinator Don ‘Wink’ Martindale will undoubtedly find creative ways to unleash it.
Over the course of the most recent NFL Draft cycle concluding on Saturday, many former Penn State football standouts found new homes at the next level. In total, six Nittany Lions heard their names called throughout the seven-round event, including two-first round selections for the first time since 2003 in Micah Parsons and Odafe Oweh.
For the first time in program history, three Penn Staters were picked in a row toward the latter half of the final round. Safety Lamont Wade was the only Nittany Lion in this year’s draft process to sign as an undrafted free agent.
Although each players’ days of donning the blue and white at the collegiate level are over, many draftees are set to make an immediate impact on Sundays. With offseason training quickly approaching, let’s take a look at the roles each Nittany Lion could play for their new NFL squads.
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The Baltimore Ravens selected Odafe Oweh out of Penn State with the No. 31 pick in the 2021 NFL draft. The Ravens added Oweh in tandem with Rashod Bateman as a first round pairing, addressing two of their biggest needs with experienced Big 10 talent.
Oweh played as a traditional defensive end in Penn State’s one-gap penetrating style defense. He spent the lion’s share of his reps as a 5-technique with his hand in the dirt. In other words, Oweh was asked to fight offensive tackle’s most of his time in Happy Valley.
He registered five sacks and 24 total pressures on only 197 pass rushes in 2019, per Sports Info Solutions. Odafe followed that up with 20 pressures on 171 pass rushes to go along with 21 run stops in 2021. An ascending run defender, Oweh’s processing and reactions increased seemingly every game.