We’ll keep track of today’s lower round signings here:
Baltimore Ravens
Detroit Lions
New England Patriots
Seattle Seahawks
The Ravens have added nine undrafted free agents to their offseason roster. Here’s the full rundown:
Bahar earned his spot on the expanded roster after impressing in a tryout earlier this week.
Washington, an undersized safety who played opposite of Raiders second-round pick Trevon Moehrig, may be the most notable player of the bunch. Moehrig graded out Pro Football Focus’ No. 1 graded safety in the country — Washington was No. 2. The Ravens signed at least one UDFA for 16 straight years, up until last year. The Ravens didn’t draft a safety, so Washington could be the player to start the next streak.
A summary of today’s minor draft pick signings:
Baltimore Ravens
Denver Broncos
Houston Texans
The first of the Ravens’ two 2021 first-round picks, Rashod Bateman is now under contract. The former Minnesota wide receiver signed his rookie deal Wednesday.
The No. 27 overall pick, Bateman signed a $12.6MM contract — with a $6.5MM signing bonus — and is now under contract through 2024. He could be kept through 2025 on this deal via the now-fully guaranteed fifth-year option. Baltimore will not have to make that decision until May 2024. In the meantime, Bateman will be a welcome addition to a team that has changed up its receiving corps this offseason.
It has not been especially easy for the Ravens to bolster their receiving crew. They were in on Kenny Golladay, and both JuJu Smith-Schuster and T.Y. Hilton passed on better offers from Baltimore in order to re-sign with the teams that drafted them. Although the Ravens did sign Sammy Watkins, their run-heavy offense has predictably been an issue for free agent wideouts. As such, the Ravens have spent first-round picks on receivers in two of the past three years.
At 6-foot-2, 210 pounds, Bateman will bring a different skill set compared to Marquise Brown. In 2019, however, Bateman did post a Brown-like yards-per-catch figure (20.9). After that 1,219-yard, 11-touchdown season, the big-bodied wideout played a limited role in the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season. Bateman opted out, opted back in, then left the Golden Gophers during the season to prepare for the draft. He still wound up a first-round pick and will attempt to give Lamar Jackson a steady target on the outside.
Bateman is the first of Baltimore’s draftees to sign and the second first-round pick to ink his rookie contract. The Colts signed Kwity Paye last week.
Washington quarterback Kevin Thomson will join the Panthers for their rookie minicamp next week, as NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero tweets. Thomson, who had previous stops at UNLV and Sacramento State, opted to turn pro this year over an eighth year of college eligibility.
Thomson, who turns 26 in September, was on track to win the Huskies’ starting job in 2020. Instead, an undisclosed injury (believed to be his ribs) sidelined him to start the year. It was familiar territory for Thomson, who battled through back issues and other maladies throughout his collegiate career.
After that, redshirt freshman Dylan Morris held on to the job for the rest of the pandemic-shortened slate. Thomson went undrafted as a result, but the Panthers quickly reached out on Day 3. Now older than Patrick Mahomes, he’ll fight for a spot on the Panthers’ depth chart behind Sam Darnold, P.J. Walker, Will Grier, and Tommy Stevens.
“When I was at UNLV going into my second year, I had Tommy John surgery. It put me out for several months and gave me time to reflect on what I really wanted and made me realize how passionate I was about football and how I wanted to continue to pursue it,” Thomson said recently (via Yahoo Sports). “I knew it would take a tremendous amount of work to get where I wanted to be, but I was willing to do that. So I think the injury really made me a better player overall since it forced me to do some self-reflection.”
Per Pelissero, these undrafted QBs will also show their stuff at rookie minicamps later this month:
The Ravens will sign Alejandro Villanueva to a two-year deal, according to a source who spoke with ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler (Twitter link). The contract is worth up to $14MM with $8MM fully guaranteed (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). 
Villanueva will replace Orlando Brown Jr. following their huge draft week trade. Once Ronnie Stanley is healthy, the Ravens will slot the former Steeler at right tackle.
The Ravens have long been connected to Villanueva. Trading Brown to the Chiefs pretty much sealed the deal, but the Ravens waited until after May 3 to avoid losing ground in the compensatory pick formula. Now, they’re still projected to earn a pair of fourth-round comp picks in 2022 for losing Matthew Judon and Yannick Ngakoue in free agency.
Villanueva was never considered an elite left tackle, but he usually did an okay job of protecting Ben Roethlisberger‘s blindside. He’s also been durable, starting all 16 games in each of the past five seasons. He’ll be a key part of the Ravens’ O-Line moving forward, especially since they did not select any linemen in last week’s draft.
The 2021 NFL Draft is here! We’ll be keeping tabs here, from pick No. 1 through No. 259:
1) Jacksonville Jaguars: Trevor Lawrence, QB (Clemson)
2) New York Jets: Zach Wilson, QB (BYU)
3) San Francisco 49ers (from Texans via Dolphins): Trey Lance, QB (North Dakota State)
4) Atlanta Falcons: Kyle Pitts, TE (Florida)
5) Cincinnati Bengals: Ja’Marr Chase, WR (LSU)
6) Miami Dolphins (from Eagles): Jaylen Waddle, WR (Alabama)
7) Detroit Lions: Penei Sewell, OT (Oregon)
8) Carolina Panthers: Jaycee Horn, CB (South Carolina)
9) Denver Broncos: Patrick Surtain II, CB (Alabama)
10) Philadelphia Eagles (from Cowboys): DeVonta Smith, WR (Alabama)
11) Chicago Bears (from Giants): Justin Fields, QB (Ohio State)
12) Dallas Cowboys (from 49ers via Dolphins via Eagles): Micah Parsons, LB (Penn State)
13) Los Angeles Chargers: Rashawn Slater, OT (Northwestern)
14) New York Jets (from Vikings): Alijah Vera-Tucker, OL (USC)
15) New England Patriots: Mac Jones, QB (Alabama)
16) Arizona Cardinals: Zaven Collins, LB (Tulsa)
17) Las Vegas Raiders: Alex Leatherwood, OL (Alabama)
18) Miami Dolphins: Jaelan Phillips, DL (Miami)
19) Washington Football Team: Jamin Davis, LB (Kentucky)
20) New York Giants (from Bears): Kadarius Toney, WR (Florida)
21) Indianapolis Colts: Kwity Paye, DL (Michigan)
22) Tennessee Titans: Caleb Farley, CB (Virginia Tech)
23) Minnesota Vikings (from Seahawks via Jets): Christian Darrisaw, OT (Virginia Tech)
24) Pittsburgh Steelers: Najee Harris, RB (Alabama)
25) Jacksonville Jaguars (from Rams): Travis Etienne, RB (Clemson)
26) Cleveland Browns: Greg Newsome II, CB (Northwestern)
27) Baltimore Ravens: Rashod Bateman, WR (Minnes0ta)
28) New Orleans Saints: Payton Turner, DE (Houston)
29) Green Bay Packers: Eric Stokes, CB (Georgia)
30) Buffalo Bills: Gregory Rousseau, DL (Miami)
31) Baltimore Ravens (from Chiefs): Jayson Oweh, DE (Penn State)
32) Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Joe Tryon, LB (Washington)
The 2021 NFL Draft has arrived! As the picks come in, we’ll keep track of each team’s haul right here:
[RELATED: 2021 NFL Draft Order By Round]
Round 1: No. 16 Zaven Collins, LB (Tulsa) (signed)
Round 2: No. 49 Rondale Moore, WR (Purdue) (signed)
Round 4: No. 136 (from Ravens) Marco Wilson, CB (Florida) (signed)
Round 6: No. 210 (from Ravens) Victor Dimukeje, LB (Duke) (signed)
Round 6: No. 223 (from Vikings) Tay Gowan, CB (Central Florida) (signed)
Round 7: No. 243 James Wiggins, S (Cincinnati) (signed)
Round 7: No. 247 (from Bears through Raiders) Michal Menet, C (Penn State) (signed)
Round 1: No. 4 Kyle Pitts, TE (Florida) (signed)
Round 2: No. 40 (from Broncos) S Richie Grant (Central Florida)
Round 3: No. 68 Jalen Mayfield, OT (Michigan) (signed)
Round 4: No. 108: Darren Hall, CB (SDSU) (signed)
Round 4: No. 114 (from Broncos) Drew Dalman, C (Stanford) (signed)
Round 5: No. 148 Ta’Quon Graham, DT (Texas) (signed)
Round 5: No. 182 Adetokunbo Ogundeji, DE (Notre Dame) (signed)
Round 5: No. 183 Avery Williams, CB (Boise State) (signed)
Round 6: No. 187 Frank Darby, WR (Arizona State) (signed)
Round 1: No. 27 Rashod Bateman, WR (Minnesota) (signed)
Round 1: No. 31 (from Chiefs) Jayson Oweh, DE (Penn State)
Round 3: No. 94 (from Chiefs) Ben Cleveland, G (Georgia)
Round 3: No. 104 Brandon Stephens, CB (SMU)
Round 4: No. 131 Tylan Wallace, WR (Oklahoma State) (signed)
Round 5: No. 160 (from Cardinals) Shaun Wade, CB (Ohio State) (signed)
Round 5: No. 171 Daelin Hayes, LB (Notre Dame) (signed)
Round 5: No. 184 Ben Mason, FB (Michigan) (signed)
Round 1: No. 30 Gregory Rousseau, DL (Miami) (signed)
Round 2: No. 61 Carlos Basham Jr., DE (Wake Forest) (signed)
Round 3: No. 93 Spencer Brown, OT (Northern Iowa)
Round 5: No. 161 (from Raiders) Tommy Doyle, OT (Miami (Ohio) (signed)
Round 6: No. 203 Marquez Stevenson, WR (Houston) (signed)
Round 6: No. 212 (from Saints via Texans) Damar Hamlin, S (Pittsburgh) (signed)
Round 6: No. 213 Rachad Wildgoose, CB (Wisconsin) (signed)
Round 7: No. 236 (from Panthers) Jack Anderson, G (Texas Tech) (signed)
Round 1: No. 8 Jaycee Horn, CB (South Carolina) (signed)
Round 2: No. 59 (from Browns) Terrace Marshall Jr., WR (LSU)
Round 3: No. 70 (from Eagles) Brady Christensen, OT (BYU) (signed)
Round 3: No. 83 (from Bears) Tommy Tremble, TE (Notre Dame) (signed)
Round 4: No. 113 Chuba Hubbard, RB (Oklahoma State) (signed)
Round 5: No. 158 Daviyon Nixon, DT (Iowa) (signed)
Round 5: No. 166 (from Titans) Keith Taylor, CB (Washington) (signed)
Round 6: No. 204 (from Bears) Shi Smith, WR (South Carolina) (signed)
Round 6: No. 222 Thomas Fletcher, LS (Alabama) (signed)
Round 7: No. 232 (from Titans) Phil Hoskins, DT (Kentucky) (signed)
Shaun Wade has finally been selected. The standout Ohio State cornerback was selected by the Ravens at No. 160.
Wade had three productive seasons with the Buckeyes, including a 2020 campaign where he compiled 34 tackles, two interceptions, and four passes defended. This performance earned him a long list of accolades, including Tatum–Woodson Defensive Back of the Year. He was also a consensus All-American and first-team All-Big Ten selection.
While the defensive back was once considered to be a potential first-round pick, a tough performance in the national championship game ruined his draft stock. Specifically, Alabama wideout DeVonta Smith had 12 passes for 215 yards and three touchdowns … in just the first half. Wade also had an underwhelming pro day, which didn’t endear himself to scouts.
“Had he come out last year, he probably would have been a first-round pick, at least in the conversation for a first-round pick,” NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport said earlier today. “He tried to do the right thing, went back to college, just a really brutal year. I talked to several scouts and evaluators about Wade. As one said, this year’s film is really bad. The [pro day] workout is just okay. I know that the scouts on this evaluator’s team just didn’t really like him.”
Penei Sewell loomed as the Panthers‘ first-round target, but when the Lions selected the Oregon tackle, Albert Breer of SI.com notes the team moved into a Jaycee Horn-vs.-Justin Fields debate. The Panthers’ need at cornerback — in a division featuring the likes of Michael Thomas, Julio Jones, Calvin Ridley, Mike Evans and Chris Godwin — helped steer them to Horn. Fields, who went three picks later after the Bears traded up for him, was in the mix. The Panthers did not want to force a quarterback investment, Breer adds. While GM Scott Fitterer indicated the Panthers could take a quarterback even after trading for Sam Darnold, the team expressed considerable interest in Deshaun Watson prior to off-field issues squashing his trade market. A Fields pick would have made revisiting that pursuit more difficult. It cannot be assumed the embattled Texans quarterback will be available anytime soon, but the Panthers did not take themselves out of a potential market Thursday night.
Entering Round 2, here is the draft latest: