Baltimore Ravens stock report: Who stood out, who didn’t during first week of training camp?
Jeff Zrebiec, The Athletic
Stock up
Jalyn Armour-Davis, CB: You could probably list two-thirds of the secondary in this category. Ravens defensive backs are averaging about three interceptions per practice. Armour-Davis has certainly stood out. The 2022 fourth-round pick has good speed and ideal size (6 feet 1, 197 pounds), but he’s been limited to 12 games in two years, mostly playing special teams. He got through the first week of camp healthy and maintained a high level of play. He’s been tight in coverage and gotten his hands on several footballs. In what figures to be a tightly contested roster competition at cornerback, Armour-Davis has made an early statement.
Stock down
Back-end WR candidates: Bateman, Zay Flowers and Nelson Agholor have gotten their catches. Rookie fourth-round pick Devontez Walker has come on over the past couple of days. Deonte Harty seems entrenched as the team’s return man. There might be room for one other receiver. Yet, the competition for that spot hasn’t really developed. Tylan Wallace, Sean Ryan and Keith Kirkwood have been mostly quiet. Malik Cunningham has had a few drops. Undrafted rookies Dayton Wade, Isaiah Washington and Qadir Ismail haven’t gotten too many balls thrown their way. Saturday was a good day for this group, and there will have to be more of that to convince team officials that keeping a sixth receiver is the way to go.
Ravens risers and fallers: A look at who’s trending after the first week of training camp
Jonas Shaffer, The Baltimore Banner
Risers
DL Travis Jones: Fellow defensive lineman Michael Pierce said Saturday that Andrew Vorhees is “going to be really good,” so it’s a good sign that Jones has already knocked back the hulking left guard a few times with his bull rush. Jones is one of the Ravens’ strongest players, and his play strength becomes more and more harnessed with every passing offseason. Jones’ growth from Year 1 to Year 2 in Baltimore was impressive — he had 36 tackles (four for a loss) and 1.5 sacks in 17 games last season — and his leap from Year 2 to Year 3 could be just as significant. “He’s been making a lot of plays,” Pierce said. “I don’t mind splitting reps with him. … I believe he will have an amazing year this year, for sure.”
Fallers
TE Charlie Kolar: Kolar’s transition from slot tight end, where he largely starred at Iowa State, to in-line tight end, where the Ravens have needed him, was always going to have ups and downs. At OTAs and minicamp, Kolar flashed his potential, showing that even with a heavier frame — he now weighs over 275 pounds — he could be a reliable target over the middle. In camp, however, Kolar hasn’t featured as prominently in the passing game, and it’s clear he’s still finding his way as a blocker. Defensive lineman Brent Urban has manhandled him a few times on the edge. But tight ends coach George Godsey remains optimistic. “I think you’re going to see a big jump … both in the run game and the pass game,” he said Saturday. “He’s going to make his mark physically at the line of scrimmage controlling the defender.”
Ravens’ Positionless Tight Ends Could Be a ‘Nightmare’ for Opponents
Ryan Mink, BaltimoreRavens.com
“Game-planning? It’s been very fun,” Godsey said Saturday at training camp.
“I think when we present what our challenges are offensively for someone to defend, I think it creates a lot of problems, and that’s what we’re after. We have big guys; we have physical guys; we have end-line guys; we have guys who can extend. That’s what we’re trying to do is create as many mismatches as possible.”
Godsey called Andrews a “positionless” player. He also lined up out wide for 65 snaps and inline or as a tackle in an unbalanced formation 76 times. Andrews even got one snap at quarterback.
Third-year tight end Isaiah Likely may be even more positionally dynamic. His snaps between the slot and inline were about an even split, and he saw 35 out wide and nine in the backfield. Likely expects an even more diverse mix this season.
“I’m very excited. I feel like I finally get to show everybody my football knowledge – being that ‘chess piece,’ as I say it,” Likely said.
“From inline to off the ball to in the slot to out wide to in the backfield, showing ‘Monk’ that as long as I know where I am for that specific play and that specific design, [attacking] that matchup, I can be the nightmare that everybody wants me to be.”
Ranking the NFL’s top 10 offensive coordinators entering 2024
Zoltan Buday, PFF
2. TODD MONKEN, BALTIMORE RAVENS
The Ravens hired Monken from Georgia to revitalize their passing game, and he did just that in 2023. Baltimore’s passing attack generated 0.01 and -0.03 EPA per play in 2021 and 2022, respectively, before improving to 0.08 on pass plays in 2023 under Monken, which ranked eighth in the league and contributed to Lamar Jackson winning his second MVP award and earning a career-high 90.4 PFF overall grade.
Despite getting much stronger in the passing game, Monken’s offense still dominated in the running game as the Ravens relied heavily on the same run concepts used under Greg Roman. As a result, Baltimore’s offense was one of just five teams to generate positive EPA on run plays, ranking fifth among NFL offenses in EPA per play on runs (0.004).
The Ravens are Roquan Smith’s team now
Mike Preston, The Baltimore Sun
“Yes, he’s a little more mature now. He’s getting older and all that stuff,” said inside linebackers coach Mark DeLeone, who coached Smith in Chicago. “He’s the same great person [that] he’s always been. Day in and day out, the kind of person he is, the kind of man he is. I’ve got three boys; he’s their favorite player, and I’m happy about that. He is a better person than he is a player.”
The Ravens need that type of leader. Sharpe would chastise teammates as much as opponents. Lewis would challenge offensive players as much or more than those on defense, and he could turn young guys into playmakers on game day.
Smith is that kind of guy. On a day when receiver Rashod Bateman is sulking because he hasn’t touched the ball enough, Smith is the type of guy who can get in his face.
“I love his personality, man. It’s amazing,” Simpson said of Smith. “When he comes around, he’s going to say something funny [or] make you laugh, so just that personality and that smile, it’s infectious to everybody around him. It makes you just like he always says, ‘Take advantage of every day. You never know when it’s going to be your last,’ so we’re playing football.