Camenker and Middlehurst-Schwartz: “Grade: A-. Rivers started 45 games across four seasons at Duke, showing good anticipation in coverage and a willingness to be a hard hitter against the run. He played well on the outside but figures to move to the slot at the professional level, as it better suits his 5-10, 185-pound frame. The Ravens needed some young depth at cornerback, and Rivers was a good value here.”
Edwards: “Grade: A-. Rivers is going to be knocked for his size but his football IQ is high. John Harbaugh may be gone, but Baltimore continues to just take good football players.”
Zrebiec: “The Ravens are content with their cornerback depth chart, which includes Marlon Humphrey, Nate Wiggins, Chidobe Awuzie and T.J. Tampa. However, they have a saying that you can never have enough corners, and the selection of Rivers is a nod to that. Rivers provides much-needed depth and adds to what’s a really young cornerback room behind Humphrey and Awuzie.”
Wacker: “Despite his lack of size, Rivers is a feisty player who should fit in well in the slot for a defense that will use a lot of defensive backs. His football IQ also rates highly and adds depth to a unit that needs some behind the top four cornerbacks of Nate Wiggins, Chidobe Awuzie, Marlon Humphrey and T.J. Tampa.”
Edholm: “His size will be a limiting factor, but Rivers made his mark as a plucky, instinctive corner at USC and should have an NFL home as a nickel defender. He’s got a nose for the ball and can move well for the position.”
PFF.com: “Rivers logged 3,186 defensive snaps across four seasons at Duke and allowed just one touchdown in coverage in 2025, with a sub-85.0 passer rating when targeted for the third straight year. He earned a 90.7 PFF grade in 2024 before taking a step back in 2025. Over the past three seasons, he has been flagged just four times while playing more than 70% of his snaps on the outside.”
