There is a reason Baltimore Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta remains in his position, as his ritual for preparing for the draft is insane.
The Baltimore Ravens have kept general manager Eric DeCosta in his position since 2019, and he has been with the organization since 1996. A major reason for his long tenure as an executive in the front office has to do with his work ethic.
DeCosta joined "The Inner Circle Podcast" to speak all about his journey, revealing that he has an insane ritual of tape watching, which prepares him for the NFL Draft.
When speaking on his preparation, DeCosta revealed that he tries to get into the office at 3 AM on weekends to watch tape for around six to seven hours, before his children are awake.
"Well, on the weekends, I have an unusual way on the weekend. So, I go to bed early on Friday night, and I try to get into the office at 3 AM. I like to work on Saturday mornings cause nobody is here. So, I can work from about 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning till about 10 AM. And then go home, and my kids are just waking up. So, for me, I can steal about six hours of tape watching on Saturday mornings, and if I'm up for it, I'll do the same on Sunday morning. I can steal about 12 hours of the course of the weekend when i'm not being bothered," DeCosta said.
There is no telling how much DeCosta works throughout the week, but he also uses the weekend to shore up on his tape watching to evaluate and rank players heading into the draft.
"A lot of getting ready for the draft is literally just watching the players and ranking players. And the only way to do it is by just watching the players. You can't cheat the system. You gotta go through it and you gotta grind on these guys," DeCosta added.
DeCosta also dives into enabling his staff, while he praises them. A lot of the staff that works under the general manager have also been with him for 15-20 years, as he put it.
The Ravens are great talent evaluators, and DeCosta's work ethic on the matter is likely a major reason why.
With the 2026 NFL Draft rapidly approaching, DeCosta has plenty of tape watching and homework to do, as the Ravens need upgrades on the offensive line, pass rush, wide receiver, and more.
Though its always expected that high-ranking executives have to work long and hard hours, getting an insight into what DeCosta puts into it could be a major reason as to why the Ravens have been successful for multiple years, albeit with the 2025 season set aside.