THE NEXT BIG THING IN BALTIMORE? Ravens Rookie Draws Comparisons to Franchise Icon
For how talented Mike Green is, it’s a miracle the Baltimore Ravens managed to snag him at No. 59 overall in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Green, who led all FBS players with 17 sacks last season at Marshall, is a fast, powerful, explosive edge rusher who can be a dominant force in the NFL. He fell to the Ravens in the second round because of off-field concerns, but if he is innocent, as they seem to believe, then he could be a special player in Baltimore.
So special, in fact, that CBS Sports’ Mike Renner believes Green could be the Ravens’ first franchise edge rusher since Terrell Suggs.
“I think so,” Renner said on “Glenn Clark Radio.” “I don’t see him really being limited, because he is so explosive, and his bend is so good, and he is so relentless as a pass rusher that I think he is just going to get it done. While he has a smaller frame, he’s also a very good run defender, too. I think that part of his game got underrated throughout the draft process. He’s a true every-down edge. I don’t think that’s even a debate in my mind.”
Suggs, the No. 10 pick in the 2003 draft, had 132.5 sacks in 16 years in Baltimore, by far the most in franchise history. He was also a key piece of the Ravens’ Super Bowl-winning team in 2012 and won a second ring with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2019. If Green comes even remotely close to that level, then the Ravens hit a home run with that pick.
Renner went even further when he claimed that Green has the second-highest of any edge rusher in this class only behind Abdul Carter, who went No. 3 overall to the New York Giants.
“You’ve seen him put it into action already very consistently,” Renner said. “While I get the knock that he didn’t play great competition, he did play Virginia Tech this past season, he did play Ohio State. You flip on those films, he is the best defensive football player on the field in those games. And then you go to the Senior Bowl, and after two days he just walked off and didn’t play the rest of the time because he was already that good.
“He’s got high-end athletic tools and already has a number of moves at his disposal rushing the passer.”
Green will still have some questions to answer both on and off the field, but if he lives up to his potential, expect him to have a long and fruitful career in Baltimore
