Why the Ravens drafted Adisa Isaac

A look into the reasoning behind the Ravens’ pick of Adisa Isaac at No. 93.

The Baltimore Ravens had a pair of 10-year veteran outside linebackers have career-best seasons in 2023. While they lost three-time Pro Bowler Jadeveon Clowney to the Carolina Panthers in free agency, they were able to re-sign two-time Super Bowl champion Kyle Van Noy to a two-year deal. Nevertheless, adding another edge defender in the 2024 NFL Draft remained a need even though it wasn’t as glaring as it looked at one point when it seemed as if neither seasoned pro would be brought back.

Even though the Ravens have invested a pick in at the position in each of the previous three drafts, having a wealth of talented pass rushers is never a bad problem to have especially if the other younger players have struggled with health during that span despite showing promising flashes. Adding Adisa Isaac at No. 93 overall was another good value selection and he is a great fit for the style of defense the Ravens are known for playing, physical and with relentless effort.

“We just feel like he is a Raven type of guy,” Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta said in a post-draft press conference. “[He] fits us in many different ways. Mentality and with his physical style of play.”

Unlike a pair of his former teammates who had their names called in the first round in their respective drafts including the last former Nittany Lion who the Ravens drafted and the one who went 52 picks ahead of him in this year’s draft, Isaac was very productive in college when it came to his sack production. His 14.5 career sacks were more than double Oweh’s seven and was three more than Robinson’s 11.5 including a team-leading and single-season career highs with 7.5 sacks and 16 tackles for loss in 2023.

More important than his solid sack totals and linear increase of them each year excluding the 2021 season which he missed after suffering a torn Achilles in summer workouts, Isaac was consistently disruptive in a multitude of ways during his time in college leading the charge as team captain. He was athletic enough to drop into the coverage, played with heavy hands and showed incredible explosion when penetrating into to backfield or looping around into a lane on twists and stunts.

“I saw a guy on tape that makes a lot of plays,” Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said during the post-draft press conference. “He does it in a real athletic way. He’s a very athletic guy, very explosive starter

DeCosta shared that Isaac first got put on his radar when he went to go visit his daughter who just so happens to attend Penn State. He caught the Nittany Lions season opener against West Virginia in early September and liked what he saw from Isaac in terms of his physical frame and how he can be deployed dynamically on defense.

If Isaac wasn’t already high on the Ravens board after DeCosta got to see him in person in Centre County, Pennsylvania, he was definitely on the rise after showing up and being one of the brightest standouts down in Mobile, Alabama at the 2024 Reese’s Senior Bowl. He was one in the mix with UCLA’s Liatu Latu who with No. 15 overall to the Indianapolis Colts as being one of the most impressive, disruptive and raved about edge prospects during the week of practice. He consistently found ways to beat some of the top tackle prospects in this year’s class around the edge including another top 20 pick in Oregon State’s Taliese Fuaga who went No. 14 overall to the New Orleans Saints.

Isaac checks all the boxes of both a traditional and more modern Ravens pick at edge defender. While former Ravens’ general manager and current, Ozzie Newsome, almost always prioritized experience and production over traits, DeCosta has been a little more willing to bet on the coaching staff’s ability to develop gifted athletes into difference-makers and potential game-wreckers since becoming the head of the front office. With Isaac, they appear to be getting the best of both worlds and his relentless motor and effort will pave the way for him to quickly become a core special team while earning snaps as a situational pass rusher.