Practice Report: Ravens Secondary Is a No-Fly Zone Early in Training Camp
Ryan Mink, BaltimoreRavens.com
On Tuesday, Arthur Maulet had an impressive leaping interception (and nearly a couple more), Brandon Stephens was in lockdown mode, and others also broke up passes.
Maulet now has two interceptions in three practices and had another one on Monday that was negated by a sack. The Ravens defense is flying around.
Rashod Bateman followed up Monday’s strong, rainy practice with another good day on Tuesday, including a juggling catch on a bomb down the sideline with Humphrey and Ar’Darius Washington close in coverage. Bateman also showed off his shiftiness after a short catch over the middle when he cut back around Roquan Smith and burst up the field.
Stephens broke up a pass intended for Bateman, went toe to toe with tight end Mark Andrews to force an incompletion when the two were matched up down the sideline, and had tight coverage on a throw to the end zone intended for Zay Flowers. Stephens has picked up where he left off last season.
Outside linebacker David Ojabo flashed a nifty spin move to get a pressure (and possibly a sack). On the next play, he blew up a run play when he shrugged off fullback Patrick Ricard to crash inside and thump Owen Wright.
Odafe Oweh is setting up residence in the Ravens backfield. He beat Ronnie Stanley around the edge for what would’ve been a sack before a long completion to Zay Flowers. Head Coach John Harbaugh said he had to talk to Oweh about not getting too close to the quarterback.
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Jeff Zrebiec, The Athletic
It would be pretty easy for first-year defensive coordinator Zach Orr to watch the practice tape and imagine the possibilities. The re-signing of Maulet and the drafting of Wiggins and Tampa have significantly improved the team’s cornerback depth behind projected starters Humphrey and Brandon Stephens. At safety, the recent signings of Jackson and Daryl Worley, along with Williams being healthy again, could turn a concern into one of the team’s strengths.
“What you’ll see is personnel groups, with different guys in different spots,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “The basic personnel group with Arthur at nickel is a group, and you’ve got a group with Marlon at nickel. You’ve got a group with Kyle down there in that spot — Kyle could be over at the dime. That’s the beauty of what we have an opportunity to do, and a lot of guys to play at a starter level and be on the field and mix it up a little bit and create problems for offenses.”
Other thoughts, observations
The offensive play of the day was turned in by rookie fifth-round running back Rasheen Ali. Leary made a perfect deep throw down the far sideline. Not only did Ali outduel Simpson, who was in good position, to make the catch, but he also made sure to get two feet in before tumbling out of bounds.
2024 Baltimore Ravens 53-man roster projection
Jamison Hensley, ESPN
OUTSIDE LINEBACKERS (7): Odafe Oweh, Kyle Van Noy, David Ojabo, Malik Harrison, Adisa Isaac, Tavius Robinson, Malik Hamm
This is a young group. Van Noy, 33, is the only outside linebacker over 26. Injuries could play a factor. Ojabo, who has played in five games in his first two seasons, had surgery to repair a partially torn ACL in November. Isaac, a rookie third-round pick, was sidelined all spring with a hamstring injury. Hamm, who spent all of last season on injured reserve, gets one of the final spots on the roster.
CORNERBACKS (7): Marlon Humphrey, Brandon Stephens, Nate Wiggins, Jalyn Armour-Davis, Arthur Maulet, Ka’dar Hollman, T.J. Tampa
The top three corners are Humphrey, Stephens and Wiggins, the team’s first-round pick. The Ravens believe Maulet is underrated. It looks like Hollman, an under-the-radar signing this offseason, will be a core special teams player. Damarion Williams, who has struggled to stay healthy, needs a strong camp to create a spot at a log-jammed position.
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WR Rashod Bateman, Ravens
Zay Flowers was sensational as a rookie, but Odell Beckham Jr. is no longer part of the operation. Baltimore needs others to step forward and Bateman is at the forefront of expectation. The former first-round pick out of Minnesota caught 32 balls for 367 yards and one touchdown last season. The Ravens have aspirations of reaching the Super Bowl, but that will not be possible without players like pass rusher Odafe Oweh and Bateman taking the next step in their respective careers.
The Ringer’s 2024 Preseason All-Under-25 NFL Squad
Diante Lee, The Ringer
Offensive Line
OT Penei Sewell, Detroit Lions, 23
G Tyler Smith, Dallas Cowboys, 23
C Tyler Linderbaum, Baltimore Ravens, 24
C/G Steve Avila, Los Angeles Rams, 24
OT Paris Johnson Jr., Arizona Cardinals, 23
Linderbaum has always been agile enough to add value to Baltimore’s elite run game, but his strength has dramatically improved since entering the league in 2022. Last year we frequently saw him generating more movement at the point of attack and creating opportunities in the zone-running game.
Safety
Kyle Hamilton, Baltimore Ravens, 23
Talanoa Hufanga, San Francisco 49ers, 24
In the modern NFL, it matters less what a safety can do as the all-seeing eye in the middle of the field, and more of what he can do as a matchup eraser between the numbers. Considering how Baltimore has used him, you can make an argument that Hamilton is just as much a third linebacker as he is a safety, if not more. Since coming into the league as a first-round pick in 2022, Hamilton is one of just five slot defenders with 20-plus run stops in fewer than 200 run snaps and is one of seven with at least four TFLs in the same number of snaps. Baltimore frequently blitzes him out of the slot, and he leads the league in pressure rate (30 percent) on those rushes among players with at least 20 opportunities. He’s also among the top 10 defenders/slot defenders/safeties in passes broken up. We can argue about most valuable, but the best overall defender in the NFL last season was Hamilton. No matter how he was used on a given play call, if Hamilton was anywhere near the ball, it spelled bad news for offenses.