OWINGS MILLS, Md. — They first met at the NFL Scouting Combine over two months ago. Cornerbacks Nate Wiggins and T.J. Tampa were roommates in Indianapolis, but their conversations never got particularly deep.

Combine week is a blur. Prospects get up early and stay up late, the hours in between filled with meetings, interviews, on-field workouts and medical appointments.

“The most I ever asked him was when he was setting his alarm,” Tampa said after he was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens . “That’s about the only thing we got to talk about.”

That changed last week as the Ravens’ rookie class was at the Under Armour Performance Center for the first time as a group. Wiggins and Tampa were roommates at the hotel the Ravens use to house their players for rookie minicamp.

There was more time to talk about their shared draft disappointments, as Wiggins expected to go much earlier than No. 30 in the first round and Tampa surely didn’t expect to still be available to Baltimore with its second pick in the fourth. There was more time to talk about the challenges ahead, from adapting to a new city and embracing new responsibilities to learning new teammates and a new defense.

More than anything, there was more time for conversations about football between two players who could have an impact on the Ravens’ defensive present and future.

“Just talking about scheme and all that; just how we both come in here and (are) learning new stuff,” Tampa said after the Ravens’ practice Saturday. “It’s just talking football.”

The Ravens entered the NFL Draft looking to add two cornerbacks. Marlon Humphrey , a three-time Pro Bowler, is coming off his second injury-marred season in the past three — and his salary-cap number rises to $25 million next year. Brandon Stephens , who had a breakout year last season, is eligible for free agency in 10 months. Young corners Jalyn Armour-Davis and Damarion Williams haven’t been able to stay healthy.

Baltimore just didn’t expect those two corners to be Wiggins and Tampa. The Ravens had Wiggins ranked well inside the top 20 on their draft board and figured he’d be selected before they were on the clock. They liked Cooper DeJean and Kool-Aid McKinstry, too, but they were so sold on Wiggins they eschewed eight trade-back opportunities, including one that included prime 2025 draft capital, to stick and pick the Clemson corner.

They had a Day 2 grade on Tampa, too, and he entered the conversation when they were on the clock in the third round. That they had already selected a corner and wanted a pass rusher led them in the direction of Adisa Isaac . The Ravens, however, couldn’t resist Tampa in the fourth.

“We really liked him, and honestly, we’ve doubled up on positions before — probably four or five times — and it’s worked out well for us,” Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta said. “We would have taken him a lot higher had we not taken Nate, I’d have to say.”

The Ravens’ decision-makers got their first look at Wiggins and Tampa on the field together at last week’s minicamp and liked what they saw. In Wiggins, the Ravens have an extremely confident corner with 4.28 speed, unlimited swagger and high-level cover skills. There are questions about Wiggins’ slender frame (he’s 6 feet 1 and 182 pounds) and the physicality he plays with, but the Ravens believe he’ll get better and stronger when immersed in an NFL strength and conditioning program.

In Tampa, the Ravens have a big (6 feet 1, 194 pounds) and physical cornerback who is instinctive, aggressively attacks the ball and has good eye discipline. The Athletic ’s lead draft analyst Dane Brugler had Tampa ranked as the 55th-best player in the class and eighth-best corner. Yet, Tampa doesn’t have high-end speed and had a disjointed pre-draft process — presumed factors in his draft drop. The Ravens, though, see him as potentially being a nice complement to Wiggins and a guy capable of contributing immediately if needed.

“It’s not something so much that we were thinking about, that we wanted to get two guys of a certain style,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “It just kind of came to us, and now when you look at the roster, you kind of evaluate that from the perspective of, we have both these guys, and who are they? How do we use their talents?

“They’re both long and rangy. They both use their hands really well in press (coverage). They both can move really well. But, obviously, they’re just a little different in their style of play. T.J.’s very physical, very physical with his hands, plays all the split-safety stuff on the edge really well also. I think it’s going to factor into how we build our defense.”

Before the draft, Baltimore’s projected starting cornerbacks were Humphrey and Stephens on the outside and some combination of Arthur Maulet and safety Kyle Hamilton in the slot. The Ravens could have lived with that on the surface. But they understood they’d be extremely vulnerable if they had cornerback injuries, and those have been near constants in recent years.

Now, not only do they have quality depth at the position where players like Armour-Davis, Williams and Ar’Darius Washington will likely be considered roster “bubble” guys in training camp, but also first-year defensive coordinator Zach Orr has options. The Ravens have always talked about making sure they get their best defensive backs on the field.

For Orr, that could mean moving Humphrey to the slot and using Stephens and Wiggins on the outside. It could mean occasionally playing Stephens in a safety role, or possibly even getting Tampa some snaps at safety. Either way, it will be a healthy competition for playing time in a suddenly deep cornerbacks group. In one sense, the rookie minicamp roommates could find themselves competing with each other for snaps.

“Of course, there’s extra motivation,” Tampa said. “I wouldn’t say just with (Wiggins), but the whole corner room. It’s really competition within myself to get better every day, learn the scheme and go hard.”

Wiggins has already identified what his biggest adjustments will be. For one, he’ll have to get used to faster-paced practices, which he noticed during last week’s minicamp. Then, he understands he’ll have to rely far more on his technique than his hands. You can’t put your hands on receivers after 5 yards in the NFL. That wasn’t the case in college.

“It was just a habit — just beating up receivers all the way down the field,” Wiggins said. “Now, I’ve just got to play with technique, so that’s my biggest jump.”

Tampa will be in the same boat. Two months after they first met amid uncertainty about where their NFL careers would begin, they’ll be adjusting to the NFL together. That should provide some comfort for the Ravens, who took a big swing at solidifying the all-important cornerback position for years to come, and for the rookies, who have each other to lean on.

“Not just going from scratch. We already know each other, so we would just connect from the combine,” Wiggins said. “It just makes it way easier.”