Ravens Receive Promising News on Defensive Tackle Nnamdi Madubuike

The Baltimore Ravens faced uncertainty surrounding star defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike this offseason.

Madubuike sustained a serious neck injury during Week 2 of the 2025 season that threatened his career and ultimately ended his season. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Tuesday that Madubuike had neck surgery last week, and his doctors are “believing that he will be able to resume playing this season.”

The Ravens’ official website also reported the news, referencing Schefter’s report. Ravens.com’s Clifton Brown noted that Madubuike also “has been posting clips of himself working out on social media,” but neither the Ravens nor Madubuike had been giving any “recent updates” about the two-time Pro Bowler’s status.

That also includes Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta’s comments during the team’s pre-draft press conference last week. DeCosta, rather, discussed draft plans for the defensive line.

“I would say that Nnamdi’s status doesn’t really affect us that much in terms of like what we’re going to do in the draft at the defensive tackle position,” DeCosta told reporters via Brown. “Certainly, we would love to get a young defensive lineman if we can. I think it’s important to try and do that every single year if we can. It’s an important position.”

Baltimore has 11 picks, which include the No. 14 pick in the first round. The draft kicks off on Thursday at 8 p.m. ET in Pittsburgh.

“We want to get better up front, certainly, on both sides, offense- and defensive-line-wise; it’s a priority for us,” DeCosta said, “it just depends on how the board falls and who’s available at that time.”

In the Ravens’ April 3 mock draft roundup, offensive line or wide receiver look like the prime targets with Penn State guard Olaivavega Ioane and Ohio State wide receiver Carnell Tate as options. Other names to look for include Utah offensive lineman Spencer Fano, Miami offensive tackle Francis Mauigoa, and Arizona State wide receiver Jordyn Tyson.

The Ravens’ dueling mock drafts on Tuesday didn’t have the team taking a defensive tackle, Madubuike’s position, until the seventh round. Ravens.com writer Garrett Downing projects the team to take Georgia Tech defensive tackle Jordan van den Berg at No. 250.

“The South Africa native had a breakout season last year at Georgia Tech after previously having a minor role in three seasons at Penn State,” Downing wrote. “He didn’t get an invite to the Combine but put on a show at Georgia Tech’s pro day, where he put [up] rare numbers for a defensive lineman, and likely caught the attention of NFL teams.”

It’s not likely van den Berg would overtake Madubuike in the Ravens’ depth chart, but the team could use the depth as DeCosta mentioned. Broderick Washington Jr. is second on the depth chart behind Madubuike, and Washington has only six sacks and 110 tackles in 73 career games since 2020.

Madubuike is a premiere defensive tackle with an All-Pro second team appearance in 2023. He has 30 sacks, two forced fumbles, six pass deflections, 69 quarterback hits and 203 tackles in his career since 2020. In seven career playoff games, he has 2.5 sacks, 11 tackles, five quarterback hits, and a pass deflection.

Baltimore took Madubuike with a third-round pick out of Texas A&M in the 2020 draft. He has a four-year, $98 million contract with the Ravens.

Aside from the injury last season, Madubuike has been durable with three consecutive seasons of 17 games played before 2025. He has played at least 60 percent of all defensive snaps since 2022.

Baltimore’s defense faltered without Madubuike as the team gave up 23.4 points per game to rank 18th in the league and missed the playoffs with a losing record. The Ravens fired head coach John Harbaugh after the season, and Baltimore is looking to turn things around in 2026 under a new regime.