The Ravens’ long wait for the NFL draft is finally over.

Now they just have to make it to late Thursday night; last year’s No. 27 overall pick wasn’t made until well after 11 p.m.

Wherever general manager Eric DeCosta goes, he should feel good about where this Ravens team stands. And, with 11 picks in hand, he’ll have plenty of opportunities to improve it. Here’s what reporters Jonas Shaffer and Giana Han and columnist Kyle Goon make of the roster heading into the draft.

Do the Ravens already have the AFC’s best roster? If not, how close are they to No. 1?

Shaffer: I think the Ravens are pretty clearly the AFC’s most talented team; the more interesting question might be how close they are to the Philadelphia Eagles. Buffalo Bills fans pointed to the Ravens’ nine Pro Bowl selections last season as an argument against Lamar Jackson’s NFL Most Valuable Player candidacy. Well, all nine Pro Bowl players are back, plus offensive coordinator Todd Monken. Even if some of the Ravens’ stars regress or miss time in 2025, they have enough young up-and-comers to patch roster holes. It’s not hard to imagine much-improved play in the secondary and at kicker next season, two spots that troubled the Ravens throughout 2024.

Han: I do think the Ravens are currently at the top. But there’s not a huge drop-off to the Chiefs. If you compare position to position, the Chiefs have an edge in some areas and the Ravens in others. For example, both have strong secondaries, with the Ravens coming out on top because of Kyle Hamilton. Overall, the Ravens might have a slight edge because several of the Chiefs’ starters suffered serious injuries last season and may not come back as strong. The Bills are a tough team because of their quarterback and offensive line, but the sum of all their parts is below the other two.

Goon: The Buffalo Bills might have a more balanced roster, especially with a better offensive line. But I do earnestly believe the Ravens have the most upside of any AFC team, especially with top-flight playmakers Derrick Henry and Zay Flowers. The weaknesses are at guard, the depth along the defensive front seven and maybe safety (though Ar’Darius Washington coming back is hugely helpful). This is a roster with some absolute greats at their positions, which is why playoff shortcomings have hurt so much. Depth was more an issue last year on defense than others. That’s where the Ravens should help themselves in this draft.

How willing should the Ravens be to part with tight end Mark Andrews?

Shaffer: That depends on what his coach and quarterback think. Andrews has been Jackson’s favorite target over his career. He’s also been one of the Ravens’ hardest workers, a culture setter for John Harbaugh since Andrews’ early years in Baltimore. If the Ravens get the right return for Andrews, they should trade him. If they don’t, they can wait, confident in the return on their continued investment: another strong season in 2025 and a likely Day 3 compensatory pick in 2027. Andrews needs a dominant playoff performance in the worst way — much like Jackson once did — but he’s still one of the NFL’s best tight ends.

Han: While I do think Isaiah Likely can step up when the time comes, I believe you should think long and hard before parting ways with a player of Andrews’ caliber. The end to the season may have left a sour taste in people’s mouths. But, if you put aside recency bias, you can’t deny that he’s an elite player after he hit milestones and broke franchise records last season. Although Jackson is close with Likely, he also relies on Andrews to be his safety blanket. That was evident in the divisional-round loss when he went to him again and again. And Andrews also brings more as a blocker than Likely. Trading him might make sense for future rosters, but the Ravens are in win-now mode and Andrews is part of that winning formula.

Goon: Not very. Powerful opinions about Andrews’ future center on how much money the Ravens will have to pay tight ends. Outside the positional context, Andrews is a big-bodied receiver who had 673 yards and 11 touchdowns last year and has a level of trust and harmony with Jackson that would be tough to replicate elsewhere. Even former All-Pro DeAndre Hopkins — the team’s biggest free agent addition — wasn’t that productive last year. If the price is right, the Ravens should make a move, but that price should be very, very high.

What’s the biggest hole on the Ravens’ roster, and how should they fill it in the draft?

Shaffer: At safety, edge rusher and cornerback, the Ravens need to find another potential starter — but they at least have backup plans. Along the defensive line, the Ravens need depth — but they at least have three solid starters. Kicker, however, is another story. If the end is indeed near for Justin Tucker, who’s facing allegations of sexual misconduct from 16 massage therapists in the Baltimore area, the Ravens need to find his replacement. And, if they wait until after the draft to sign a rookie kicker, their field goal woes probably won’t end.

Han: I’ve been preaching about the need for an edge rusher, but the only actual hole in the Ravens’ starting lineup is at left guard. Star outside linebackers/EDGEs/defensive ends/whatever you want to call them are extremely important, so I wouldn’t be mad if they took one at 27. However, the Ravens would be addressing depth and the future if they went that way. Meanwhile, after Patrick Mekari left in free agency, the Ravens do not have a left guard in place. Andrew Vorhees got reps there last year, but he lost the job to Mekari, whom the Ravens historically preferred to use as a sixth man. The Ravens should shoot for a guard in the first two days of the draft unless they feel confident Vorhees is ready to step in

Goon: This is a year to commit a high pick to a defensive end. With Odafe Oweh’s future uncertain and a host of pass rushers who are basically question marks (all due respect to Kyle Van Noy, but he’s 34), the Ravens should invest in a position that is supposed to be one of this year’s best in the draft. Moving up in the first round is always costly, but if the Ravens like a higher pick like Tennessee’s James Pearce Jr., they should consider swinging a trade to get a guy who can bring foundational stability to the position.

What do an ideal Day 1 and Day 2 look like for the Ravens?

Shaffer: The Ravens have an NFL-high 11 picks, but their “draft capital,” according to Sharp Football Analysis, is more middling. They can change that with some good luck in the first round. If there’s a run on players rated lower on the Ravens’ draft board within the first 25 or so picks, they could be sitting pretty at No. 27 overall — so pretty, in fact, that they can trade down, still land an impact edge rusher and tack on a potential top-100 pick. From there, they’d have even more flexibility to move around the board, packaging Day 3 picks to trade up and get their ideal replacements for guard Patrick Mekari, cornerback Brandon Stephens and/or safety Marcus Williams.

Han: Across the first three rounds, I would like to see the Ravens take a defensive lineman (edge or interior), a guard and a safety. The Ravens technically have their starting safeties in place, and they have spoken highly of the two young guys on the team, Sanoussi Kane and Beau Brade. It’s also not the end of the world if the Ravens keep Kyle Hamilton because cornerback Marlon Humphrey is also great in the slot. But, ideally, the defense would be able to utilize Hamilton’s versatility to run exotic looks if he moves back to nickel. And defensive back depth is never a bad thing.

Goon: Say it with me now: edge, guard, safety. Not only are those the three biggest needs the Ravens have, but that’s also roughly the order they should make their first three picks (27, 59 and 91). You should never pick for need alone, and the Ravens won’t. But the trend the NFL is talking about is investing in the defensive and offensive fronts like the Philadelphia Eagles. The talent at the big boy positions will go fast. The Ravens have a knack for landing DBs later in the draft or as free agents, so Eric DeCosta should be able to mine the gold-flecked middle of this draft for safeties and corners.

Call your shot: What will the Ravens do in the first round? And how many picks total will they make?

Shaffer: Trading down a few spots is almost always defensible, especially with a glut of talented prospects likely available, but the Ravens would need a trade partner. I expect them to stick at No. 27 and pick the highest-rated defensive player on their board. My guess: Georgia safety Malaki Starks. From there, I think we’ll see some wheeling and dealing on Day 2 and Day 3 that leaves the Ravens with 10 picks total.

Han: I think the Ravens make their pick. It would be fun and exciting if they did something interesting like trading up or out of the first round, but DeCosta seems to like letting players fall to him. I do think he may make trades later on, though, because of how he addressed his 11 picks as “currency” at his predraft press conference. He mentioned the ability to move up for a player or to gather future prospects for different years. My random guess would be they make nine picks and that they pick James Pearce Jr. from Tennessee (aka my mock draft selection) to address their needs at edge rusher.

Goon: As much as we all desire a little action at the Castle, I foresee the Ravens making the 27th overall pick as scheduled for an edge, defensive lineman or a guard, or trading out of the first round if their chosen guys are gone. This is not a gambling front office. The Ravens have so much confidence in their ability to develop later talent (and incentive not to pay early-first-round contracts with their limited cap space) that they will let the draft come to them instead of manipulating or taking risks. It’s boring, but boring (and usually competent) is how this franchise is wired. A competent pick would be Alabama offensive lineman Tyler Booker.