Sanoussi Kane, the Ravens’ final pick of the 2024 NFL draft, has been the only rookie to play in every game this season, but his contributions are mostly overlooked because they’ve come on special teams.

The story is much the same for the rest of the Ravens’ rookies on defense. Outside of their first-round pick, cornerback Nate Wiggins, the rest of them have contributed on special teams or scout teams. Such is the life of rookies drafted to a defense with stars and depth.

However, with big contracts kicking in soon, the Ravens will be calling on these young players, with their low rookie-deal salaries, to produce in coming years. They have the luxury of developing behind the scenes, but they can’t afford to waste a day. And coach John Harbaugh has been pleased with what he’s seen from the nine drafted players and one undrafted rookie on the roster.

“I think the rookie class is doing a good job, developing very well,” Harbaugh said. “You have to go guy by guy, because every scenario is a little different. Some guys have had some injuries they’ve had to deal with and stuff like that. I think they have all met their circumstances where they’re at in the best possible way, individually. [I’m] not disappointed with anybody. I think they’re all doing well, and I think they’re all going to be good players.”

To assess how the young players are developing (a process happening away from the public eye), we sought an evaluation from those closest to the process: teammates and the players themselves.

Here, we will cover defensive players.

Round 1, CB Nate Wiggins

Wiggins has played eight games, contributing on defense and special teams. He has 14 tackles, eight pass defenses and a forced fumble, but he’s struggled with penalties.

CB Brandon Stephens

• On where he’s grown: “I think now he’s starting to understand the defense just as a whole. Not just his job but knowing everybody’s job on the field. ... I think a guy that young, I feel like it’s rare for people to prepare how he prepares.”
• Advice to him: “Continue to do all that you can to be prepared and take it to Sundays. Play sound, fundamental football, technique-wise and effort-wise, which he does. Now it’s time to take it to another level.”

CB Arthur Maulet

• On how he’s seen him grow: “Oh, man, he’s grew a lot just by getting the plays and knowing them, and having the confidence to play them and not ask anyone. But also his confidence every week just gets higher and higher as he’s getting more comfortable with the game. So he’s going to be an elite player for this team eventually.”
• How hard is it to be thrown in the fire as a rookie? “It’s just very hard, especially at corner, right? So for him to have the confidence and not be scared to guard these guys one on one, and not have any help over the top, it just shows dividends to what his confidence is and how he trusts his technique.”

Self-evaluation: The Banner checked in with Wiggins each week through the first half of the season for his game-by-game self-assessment. You can check it out here.

Round 3, OLB Adisa Isaac

Coming into camp, Isaac was dealing with a hamstring injury that kept him out until the final weeks. He was activated for Week 4 against the Buffalo Bills, and he had three tackles, including one for loss. He has not been active since and has been contributing on the scout team.

OLB Tavius Robinson

• What he heard about him from Isaac’s Penn State teammate Odafe Oweh: “I just heard that he’s another hardworking player, guy who takes the game seriously. And I think seeing him his first couple days when he was able to practice at camp, explosive player and, in the meeting rooms, he just takes it seriously.”
• On how he’s grown: “I think he’s been getting better day by day. And again, on the field and in the meeting room, asking good questions and all that. So I think he’s going to be a special player for sure.”
• The difficulty of starting off injured: “Definitely difficult because you’re coming in trying to make an impression, you’re learning everything. So, I mean, for me, it was hard, not injured. So I can’t imagine how hard it must have been for him.”
• How close does he feel? “I think he could go right now.”

OLB/ ILB Malik Harrison

• On what he’s seen from him: “I think he’s getting more comfortable. I feel like he’s understanding the defense more, having fun and not really thinking. He’s just growing every day.”
• On how playing on special teams helps: “I feel like special teams helps you a lot. It just gets you caught up with the physicality, the techniques, because the techniques on special teams, you can play offense or defense.”
• On what Oweh said about him: “He was a horrible guy. Psych, nah. He was just telling us he’s a big, fast guy that just come to work. I feel like what Daf said is exactly what he’s done when he’s healthy.”
• What does Isaac at his best look like? “At his best, Adisa could be a Pro Bowler.”

CB Maulet

• On his special teams contributions: “Yeah, Adisa, kickoff return guy, helped me on the double team last week. He’s really good. He’s going to be fine. I think he had a TFL, like, three weeks ago, right? His first career tackle was a TFL or something like that.”

Self-evaluation

• Main area of growth: “I would say, just my hands. I feel like I’m using more moves, you know, having a counter move right away and not kind of hesitant with it. So I would say just my hands. I’ve gotten a lot better with my hands. And play recognition, backfield sets, reading body language, yeah, just a little bit of everything.”
• Toughest lesson he’s learned: “Just executing every play with like the fine details, you know, not leaving out — like some plays, I may get like 90% of the play correct, but that 10% is what’s going to get me to the quarterback. So kind of just making sure that I’m detailed from start to finish and not leaving nothing out. So I’ll say just being very, very detail oriented in all my moves and with the game plan.”
• Best advice from a veteran: “Just take care of your body. I mean, like it sounds simple, but you know, as the weeks get on, coming from college, you realize it’s a longer season. So taking care of your body is extremely important to withstand a long season and for you to play at your best, too, as well.”
• Main focus moving forward: “Keep building up my body, keep building up my IQ. And an emphasis on just being detailed, being very detailed on everything from start to finish. I feel like just all of that together is gonna accumulate to make me a better player overall, just small things.”

Round 4, CB T.J. Tampa

Tampa was placed on injured reserve with an ankle injury Oct. 26. Before that, he played on special teams in four games from Week 4 through Week 7.

CB Stephens

• On what he’s seen from him: “We haven’t seen much of him on the field. But he’s staying locked in and staying ready. And I’m sure, when he gets a shot, he’ll be game ready.”
• How he’d describe him: “A sound player. He’s smart. He understands concepts very well, from what I can see from how he plays.”

S Kyle Hamilton

• On what he’s seen from him: “T.J. is on the cooler, calm, collected side, and it’s cool to have somebody in the room like that. He’s cool, fun to talk to. Football-wise, I mean, he’s never really panicked. He’s kind of the same way. I feel like he plays like that and super smooth in the way he moves. Nothing never seems forced, and I think the game just comes easy to him.”

CB Maulet

• On what he’s seen from him: “Obviously they haven’t seen him on defense, but I’ve seen him on special teams like, you know, and that’s the thing that goes unnoticed. Like, T.J. is very physical when he’s doing — when he’s on punt return, he’s the jammer. Like he’s a physical guy. He can run. He’s not scared to stick his nose in. Like he’s going to be really good for us as well.”
• On the focus for Tampa: “Just to get healthy, man, just to get healthy, so he can really show us what he has, right?”
• On Tampa’s potential: “Another shutdown, man. … They did a great job getting two corners that’s not scared to play man to man, that’s not scared to tackle, that’s cool with getting the ball thrown at them and know that they’ll make the play.”

Round 7, S Sanoussi Kane

Kane has played over 70% of the special teams snaps in every game but has not played on defense. He has made seven special teams tackles.

S Hamilton

• On what he’s seen from him: “I mean, he’s been killing it on special teams, and that’s kind of like his baby right now. It’s what the team needs from him right now, in his career, and I think he’s doing a great job with that.”
• On what stands out about his game: “Definitely physicality for him. He’s not afraid to throw his body in there and go hit somebody. And that shows on special teams. I’m excited to see what he does when he starts playing defense.”
• Focuses for him right now: “I would say his main focus is just consistency, just doing the little things right, applying on tape what he’s learning in the film room. And I think he’s doing a good job right now.”

CB Maulet

• On his special teams contributions: “Nousski, man, that’s my guy. Physical, not scared to tackle, playing PP for us, and doing it very well. You know, PP is like a really, really important position on special teams. He has to make all the calls and make sure everybody’s aligned right and everybody’s blocking the right way. And he’s took ownership of and he made some big plays for us last week on kickoff, when we put the ball in for a kickoff.”

Self-evaluation

• Main focus: “I think just playing more free. Obviously, when you first get to the NFL, you think it’s the NFL, so you got to play perfect. But everybody’s gonna make mistakes. So just playing more free, that’s helped me improve my game in all aspects.”
• Toughest lesson: “Probably just how we played during the Raiders game. We were up the entire game, and then that fourth-quarter comeback, that really just shows like, you know, in college, usually you just win those games. So like it shows, like at any given snap, the game, the tide can change. So you got to be locked in throughout the entire game.”
• Best advice: “The best advice I got was really just play your game, really. I think that was the best advice I got, just because they showed so much confidence in me. Like they was like, You’re here for a reason. So just go out there and play your game. And that gave me the confidence to just go out and do what I do.”
• Main focus: “Just getting better every day. Just learning, learning the defense, learning from the veterans that we have in the secondary, and just getting better and improving my game every day.”

Undrafted, S Beau Brade

S Hamilton

• On what he’s seen from him: “He’s getting a lot of work in practice against our one offense, and he’s playing man against those guys. He’s in the post making plays. He’s in the box making plays. Super excited to see what he does in his career.”
• Main focus for him: “I’d say, just patience, which I think he understands. He’s super intentional about everything he does. Even though he’s not in the game plan fully, like he’s immersed in it. He knows what we’re doing. He knows the checks, the calls, and I’m confident that, if we had to put him out there, he would do well.”
• What to expect from him: “I just think, like a lot of production, and somebody who’s flying around. Just another guy flying, like running around with his head cut off.”

CB Maulet

• On what he’s seen from him: “Beau Brade, yeah, he reminds me of me a little bit, an undrafted guy, kind of underrated, does what he needs to do, fly low, under the radar, but when his number’s called, he’s ready to play. … They say Beau’s my twin, so high expectations for him. Just saying.”

Self-evaluation

• Main area of growth: “I feel like in the post, the middle field, I feel like I’ve really learned what to read and what happens to really be a playmaker in the middle field. But of course, like all around, I feel like I’ve grown a lot. Especially since this time last year, just with what I learned from training camp to the preseason and then definitely to the regular season.”
• Toughest lesson: “Probably on special teams, really. Not even defensive-wise but on special teams, having to block probably like a D-end or like a big linebacker. I mean, it’s like, man, there ain’t no getting around it. You just got to do it. So that’s probably been the craziest thing so far.”
• Best advice: “Make the most of the moment. Everything goes fast, especially in this league. It’s a business. So make the most of every moment you got. And practice like it’s a game rep, because whatever you do on the practice field will come up on the game field, good or bad.”
• Main focus: “Main focus right now is just get my game repetitions, all I can do in practice. And then, hopefully, I’ll be able to show that out in the game. But really make plays in practice. Because, of course, being on scout team, I go against the best offense in the world every day. So, I mean, just make the most of that.”