Ravens DC Zach Orr believes Kyle Hamilton is ‘the ultimate chess piece’ with DPOY potential

The first-year play caller foresees the versatile All-Pro defender reaching even greater heights moving forward.

Following a rough start to his rookie season in 2022, Baltimore Ravens third-year safety Kyle Hamilton had an incredibly strong second half of the year and emerged as a potential rising star heading into his sophomore campaign. In 2023, he not only lived up to all the hype he garnered last offseason but exceeded it as he earned the first Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors of his career.

The 2022 first-rounder became a household name because of all the ways he is able and showed he can impact or absolutely wreck an opposing offense’s game plan because he can line up and make plays from just about anywhere. In a Thursday press conference following a session of on-field Organized Team Activities, Ravens first-year defensive coordinator Zach Orr aptly called Hamilton “the ultimate chess piece” and believes he is destined for and can reach even greater heights in his career.

“I think he’s one of the top players in the league,” Orr said. “My goal for him is to one day win [the] defensive MVP – here – of the league. I think he has that type of talent, he has that type of work ethic, he’s that type of person. The thing about him being the ultimate chess piece [is], depending on what the offense does, he can play anywhere. He can play safety, deep safety, box safety; he can play corner, he can play nickel, he can play backer, he can even play outside linebacker, too, and you guys know he can rush the passer.”

In his breakout 2023 campaign, Hamilton appeared in 15 games and recorded 81 total tackles including 10 for a loss, three sacks, four quarterback hits, four interceptions, 13 pass breakups, a forced fumble and his first career touchdown.

Two aspects of Hamilton’s character and overall makeup as a pro that Orr appreciates most is his willingness to work hard and take on more responsibilities on defense to expand his role even further.

“He’s a smart player, so he can handle all the different volume that you get him,” Orr said. “I think he’s eager, going into his third year, to do more, so we’ll see.”

In addition to learning and being deployed in multiple positions, another responsibility Hamilton is taking on heading into his third season is being more of a leader both vocally and continually with his play. Even though he is still one of the unit’s youngest players at just 23 years old, he is ready to embrace this new role as well.

“Whether that’s vocal or actually doing stuff on the field, being vocal on the field, off the field and stuff like that, that’s something that the coaches have challenged me [with] doing this year,” Hamilton said. “I’m still a young guy – relatively – but with power comes responsibility, and heavy is the head that wears the crown. I think I’ve said that before, and my mom says that all the time, so it’s her fault.” (laughter) “But yes, you play well, you’re expected to lead a little more, and I think I’m trying to get a little better at that and get used to it.”

Hamilton was able to be deployed in a multitude of ways during his first two years in the league thanks in large part to the presence of former Ravens safety Geno Stone. The 2020 seventh-rounder not only filled in more than admirably at the starting free safety spot when veteran Marcus Williams was injured but he also came on the field as a third safety when the Ravens dialed up dime, nickel and quarter coverages.

With Stone now patrolling the backend of the Cincinnati Bengals defensive backfield following his departure in free agency, finding a capable and comparable replacement with range and ball skills is paramount in order for Hamilton’s diverse skillset to be maximized week in and week out.

“With Kyle being the ultimate chess piece, the third safety position is important,” Orr said. “I feel like we have some great in-house candidates that [have been] working their butts off since Day One, so we’re excited. They had a good first three days of practice, so we’re excited to see where it goes. But yes, that position is important.”

The Ravens’ top internal candidates as it currently stands are third-year pro Ar’Darius Washington and undrafted rookies Beau Brade and Jordan Toles. Seventh-round rookie Sanoussi Kane is more of a traditional box safety who will be a strong special teams presence and can play dime linebacker in sub-packages but isn’t an ideal fit in a similar roaming role as Stone played. There are still several experienced veteran free safety options on the open market who they could bring in to compete for or fill that role between now and the start of the 2024 season.