Ravens versatile LB is determined to make his presence felt in ‘critical year’

Veteran Malik Harrison embraces playing multiple roles on defense because it means he will see the field more.

The Baltimore Ravens value positional versatility on both sides of the ball and while First Team All-Pro Kyle Hamilton is the most notable personification, he isn’t the only member of the unit with a diverse role and skill set.

Fifth-year veteran linebacker Malik Harrison is another player who head coach John Harbaugh went as far as to call him the “Patrick Mekari” of the defense. In the same way Mekari is capable of playing all five spots on the offensive line, Harrison can play both outside linebacker on the ball as well as inside linebacker off the ball.

“He plays inside backer, both of them. He plays outside backer in our base package. He plays defensive end also in our sub package,” Harbaugh said. “He plays every special teams. Very valuable player. I see him playing all those positions. He’s done a great job, really proud of Malik.”

While last season was his first playing multiple positions for the Ravens, it is not a concept or responsibility Harrison was unfamiliar with entirely.

“In high school, I played damn near 10 positions, so I’m used to playing around a whole bunch of positions,” Harrison said Monday. “It’s nothing too hard on me or anything.”

Originally drafted by the Ravens in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft out of Ohio State, Harrison was among the first of the team’s pending free agents brought back but he was just signed to a one-year contract worth $2.7 million per Spotrac.

With no long-term financial security, his mindset remains the same as it was in the final year of his rookie deal in 2023, make the most of every opportunity that comes his way and embrace whatever role the team needs him to play to get him on the field.

“It’s a critical year for me; I’m on a one-year deal,” Harrison said. “I’ll just try to get on the field more, make more plays and just have people feel my presence.”

Even though he has yet to record a single sack in the regular season and has just one quarterback hit in 61 career games including 27 starts, Harrison has been the most impressive when it comes to stuffing the run on early downs whether it stems from setting a stout edge, getting penetration in the backfield to blow up the play completely or at least slowing down the ball carrier enough to give his teams time to rally backside for a tackle if he doesn’t shed and make it himself first.

The 26-year-old is one of just two players on the team who are adept enough both on the edge and off the ball to play the SAM linebacker role in the Ravens defense with the other being 11th-year veteran Kyle Van Noy. It requires the player who lines up there to be able to set the edge against the run and drop into coverage whether its zone or carrying a running back or tight end upfield.

“I feel like, right now, I’ve got a pretty [good] understanding of all the positions,” Harrison said. “But I’ll say, since this is going to be my third year playing SAM [linebacker], I feel like SAM, is my strongest [position] right now.”

With the Ravens looking to have Van Noy focus more on being a pass rusher primarily after he recorded a career-high nine sacks in just 14 games last season, it opens the door for Harrison to carve out a key role as an early down or situational defender in team’s diverse scheme.

“I feel like, with this defense, the more you know, the better you’re going to get on the field,” Harrison said. “Playing more positions, gives me the opportunity to get on the field more.”

Playing more than one position also provides him with a bigger scope and greater understanding of the defense as a whole allowing him to play faster and be more instinctual which could lead to him making more splash plays such as turnovers and incompletions.

“Just learning all those positions, I get a bigger picture, I get to know – basically – what everybody is doing, and it just helps me out,” Harrison said. “When I go out there, I’ll be like, ‘I’m playing dime,’ or ‘I’m playing SAM,’ or ‘I’m playing end.’ I’ve got to just turn my brain into, ‘I’ve got that.’”

The Ravens open the preseason against the Philadelphia Eagles at home for the second year in a row this Friday. Last year, Harrison was one of the brightest standouts and most disruptive players in that game and he is heading into this one with the mindset to dominate and stand out again.

“I treat it like a game – like a regular season game,” Harrison said. “You never know who’s watching you; you can get promoted [from] a preseason game. You never know, so I treat it just like a [regular season] game.”