50 Words or Less: Kyle Hamilton Has Loftier Goals After Breakout Season
Clifton Brown, BaltimoreRavens.com
Kyle Hamilton became an All-Pro in his second season, but it’s obvious he’s driven for more after watching and listening to him at OTAs. Zach Orr believes Hamilton is capable of winning Defensive Player of the Year one day. That day may not be far away.
Jalyn Armour-Davis had an excellent two days of practice during OTAs open to the media. Injuries have prevented Armour-Davis from becoming a regular part of the cornerback rotation during his first two seasons. But he looks ready to fight for a roster spot and playing time.
Henry made several nice catches during practices, and it’s often overlooked that he has 155 career receptions. Throwing the ball to Henry is another way to get him in space, matched one-on-one against a defender who wants no part of tackling him.
With Henry on board, Justice Hill may not reach the career-high 84 carries he had in 2023. However, Hill remains a valuable player on offense and special teams. He had a touchdown catch Thursday and looks as agile and fast as ever.
If an award was given to the practice player of the week, veteran linebacker Malik Harrison may have won. Harrison had a leaping interception Wednesday and made several strong pass rush moves on Thursday. Harrison’s physicality is a given, but he’s also making athletic plays.
Twelve Ravens Thoughts following opening week of OTAs
Luke Jones, Baltimore Positive
While second-round rookie Roger Rosengarten and 2023 seventh-round pick Andrew Vorhees are starting candidates for the offensive line, Baltimore typically gives veterans the first crack at open spots. Daniel Faalele aims to prove himself at right tackle, but also keep an eye on free-agent signing Josh Jones at left guard.
There was quite a drop-off of veteran players in attendance from Wednesday to Thursday, but Marcus Williams and Kyle Van Noy were the most notable veterans not to be present for either voluntary workout open to reporters. Michael Pierce wasn’t participating, but he watched from the sideline both days.
Malik Cunningham may still be listed as a quarterback on the official roster, but he was not wearing a black non-contact jersey and was catching passes rather than throwing them in practices this week. That remained true even Thursday when only two other quarterbacks were participating.
Former Morgan State safety and St. Frances Academy standout Jordan Toles registered an interception of Leary during Thursday’s workout. The undrafted 6-foot-1, 216-pound rookie is a long shot to make the roster, but it’s always fun seeing a Baltimore native stand out in such a setting.
Todd Monken built a great Ravens offense, but AFC championship disappointment looms over his achievements
Kyle Goon, The Baltimore Banner
“We didn’t play well enough, didn’t coach well enough,” Monken said. “Didn’t execute at a high level, and that starts with me.”
Weighing in publicly for the first time, Monken didn’t focus so much on how manytimes the Ravens ran the ball as how inefficiently they ran it.
“I’m not trying to justify this s***, I promise you that. I’m not,” Monken said. “But I’m just saying, in general, we needed to run the ball better and we didn’t. That’s a fact. You can’t control the game if you can’t run the football, and then not execute at a high level when it presents itself.”
If it feels like a familiar quandary, it has strong parallels with Monken’s predecessor. Before he was widely criticized as regressive and medieval, Greg Roman helped unlock Jackson as a playmaker, setting a team record for most rushing yards in a season.
As glorious as that first year was, however, it was quickly overshadowed by how disappointing the top-seeded Ravens played against the Tennessee Titans. Jackson threw a whopping 59 pass attempts, while Mark Ingram and Gus Edwards accounted for just nine carries.
2024 NFL offensive infrastructure rankings: Chiefs continue reign, Lions in top tier, Texans take giant leap
Jared Dubin, CBS Sports
Tier 3: 13-10
13. Vikings
T-11. Cowboys
T-11. Ravens
10. Bills
This is a really interesting tier because we have Dak Prescott, Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen propping up what are otherwise somewhat ordinary units at this point after they all sustained talent losses this offseason, and then we have the Vikings being dragged down by rookie QB J.J. McCarthy’s rating. Take a look at the non-QB scores and the Vikes come out significantly ahead of the three teams in front of them, but a trio of MVP candidate quarterbacks carry the day for their offenses. If the offensive lines come together for Dallas and/or Baltimore, it of course wouldn’t be a surprise to see them reprise as top-10 offenses, and the same applies to the pass-catchers in Buffalo.
Ranking 2024 NFL defenses: Browns, Jets, Chiefs among teams most likely to crack the top 10
Jared Dubin, CBS Sports
Most Likely
Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns, Kansas City Chiefs, New York Jets, San Francisco 49ers
Barring injury, the Ravens are pretty much a top-10 defense every year. Even after losing Mike Macdonald, I’m just not comfortable betting against them doing it again. If Myles Garrett isn’t the single-best defensive player in the league, he’s pretty damn close. With more depth up front than at any time in recent years, Denzel Ward leading a solid secondary, and Jim Schwartz back for another year, the Browns seem likely to repeat their top-10 ranking from a year ago, even if they don’t again land in the top five.
Biggest remaining offseason priority for each AFC team: QB1 for Raiders? WR help for Steelers?
Kevin Patra, NFL.com
Top priority: Add to the offensive line.
It’s foolhardy to judge a Ravens roster until much closer to the start of the season. No one does a better job of continuing to find cheap, capable talent deep into the process than Baltimore’s front office. If one area stands out as a question mark at this stage, it’s the offensive line, where the right tackle job and both guard spots appear up for grabs. Andrew Vorhees, who sat out his rookie season with an injury, and Ben Cleveland (seven starts in three years) are currently in line for the guard spots. Second-round pick Roger Rosengarten could start at right tackle. Josh Jones, who can play guard and tackle, could swipe one of the starting spots or play a swing role. Even if some of these options prove viable, the depth is a concern. If Ronnie Stanley, who hasn’t played more than 13 games in a season since 2019, goes down, things could get dire. GM Eric DeCosta should add veteran help before Week 1.