Can Nigel Warrior become the latest UDFA to make Ravens?
BALTIMORE — Nigel Warrior made perhaps the play of the night when he ran down an overthrown pass by Lamar Jackson and came down with an interception in the Ravens' first scrimmage at M&T Bank Stadium.
The rookie safety from Tennessee has a nose for the ball and is gaining the confidence of coaches.
Warrior could become the latest undrafted player to make the Ravens' final roster.
“Nigel Warrior – Tennessee Volunteer. Nigel’s a great kid, and right now, he’s just learning how to play football and trying to take that next step to try to get himself on the football team," Ravens pass defense coordinator Chris Hewett said.
The Ravens have kept an undrafted rookie on their Week 1 roster for 16 consecutive seasons — the second-longest streak in the NFL behind the Indianapolis Colts (21).
Some of those undrafted players that wound up making a huge impact with the franchise include kicker Justin Tucker, running back Priest Holmes, linebacker Bart Scott, running back Gus Edwards, and center Matt Skura.
Warrior, 6-foot-1, 197 pounds, is looking to continue that tradition.
His father, Dale Carter, was a two-time All-American defensive back at Tennessee in 1990-91 and went on to have an All-Pro career with the Kansas City Chiefs.
The younger Warrior played in 49 games, including 38 starts, at safety for the Volunteers. He finished his collegiate career with 239 tackles (144 solo), 7.5 tackles for a loss, 18 passes defended, five interceptions, one sack, and three forced fumbles.
As a senior in 2019, Warrior started all 13 games at safety, en route to earning AP All-SEC first-team honors, All-SEC second-team honors (voted by the coaches), and PFF College All-SEC second-team honors.
He tied for the SEC lead in interceptions (four) and ranked third on the team with 70 tackles (39 solo), also adding nine passes defended.
One of the highlights of his season was intercepting a pass by Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and returning it 59 yards to set up a Tennessee touchdown.
Warrior's best path to the Ravens final roster could be as a member of special teams. However, there could be opportunities at safety because Baltimore recently terminated the contract of Earl Thomas.
The Ravens will be closely watching Warrior's development.
"I think right now what Nigel’s got to do is to help [special teams coordinator] Chris Horton out on special teams, and then find a niche on defense," Hewett said. "Just moving forward, he’s just got to go out there and go play. We’ll see what happens with that.”
