The Baltimore Ravens are going to have many different training camp battles to keep an eye on over the next few weeks. From the wide receiver battle to the competition at cornerback, Baltimore will have a few tough decisions to make before the 2021 season begins.
Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports identified one “under-the-radar” positional battle for each AFC Team, and for the Ravens, Jones looked to the second inside linebacker spot, mentioning L.J. Fort, Malik Harrison, and Chris Board.
“The Ravens have so many different formations and looks that it’s hard to say what exactly this competition is outside of “the inside linebacker that’s not Patrick Queen.” Wink Martindale had a healthy rotation at this spot last year among Chris Board, L.J. Fort and Malik Harrison, with Fort getting the most snaps of the trio followed by Harrison and then Board. Fort and Harrison were the top choices on early downs for the Ravens while Board got more than a third of his snaps on third down alone. On third down he had 2.5 sacks and eight pressures. If Board can show improvement as a run-stopper this camp, he could see more time on earlier downs.”
Fort put together an extremely solid season in 2020, while Harrison showed plenty of potential in the snaps that he played during his rookie year. For Board, he was used in a multitude of ways with an increased role.
While Patrick Queen is the No. 1 inside linebacker in Baltimore, the team has plenty of intriguing options at the position. Harrison could see an increase in snaps this year as the Ravens might look to set up their future linebacker duo of him and Queen. However, it could be hard to keep Fort off of the field, especially if he gets off to another strong start this season. Having so much depth at inside linebacker is a good problem for defensive coordinator Don Martindale to have, and it will be intriguing to see how the positional battle plays out.
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