Baltimore Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta said Wednesday that Nnamdi Madubuike’s status will not change how the team approaches defensive tackle in next week’s draft. The Ravens, he said, want to get better up front on both sides of the ball, and they still see the interior of the defensive line as a priority.
DeCosta made that clear at his pre-draft news conference as Baltimore entered the final stretch with 11 picks in hand. The Ravens are expected to address their line-of-scrimmage needs, and the idea of them using a pick Friday on an interior defender would not be a surprise. Ohio State’s Kayden McDonald was the only defensive tackle in Mock Draft Nation’s first-round discussion that warranted meaningful attention, with pick No. 14 looming as one possible landing spot late next Thursday night.
That urgency is tied in part to what Baltimore did not do a year ago. The Ravens had a trove of defensive tackle talent available in a draft class widely viewed as generational at the position, but they did not pursue the group as aggressively as they might have. Madubuike, a Pro Bowl defensive tackle, had his future thrown into doubt after a lost 2025 campaign, yet DeCosta said that situation does not alter the team’s draft board.
“Nnamdi’s status doesn’t really affect us that much, in terms of what we’re going to do drafting at the defensive tackle position. We want to get better up front, certainly, on both sides … It’s a priority for us,” DeCosta said.
The concern now extends beyond one player. Broderick Washington has lagged in recent years, and the Ravens are not developing defensive tackles at the rate they once did. That makes the interior line a more pressing issue than it might have been when Baltimore was stockpiling depth at the position more easily.
For the Ravens, the next week is less about whether they need help inside than about how much help they can get. With 11 picks available for now, DeCosta has room to move, and the clearest sign of the team’s priorities may come quickly if Baltimore uses one of those selections on Friday to fortify the middle of its defense.
The draft will show whether the Ravens treat Madubuike’s uncertain future as a reason to wait or as another reason to act. Based on DeCosta’s words on Wednesday, the safer bet is that Baltimore will not wait long.
