The Ravens have a new center and other linemen competing at various spots. Rashod Bateman left practice early, but his fellow rookie and other wideouts shined.
Ravens News 5/24: Stacked Defense and more
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Yes, they let Matt Judon walk in free agency. No, they still have not really replaced the top-end talent of Earl Thomas at safety after releasing him last offseason. But this was a top-10 unit last year (seventh in yards, second in points, ninth in DVOA), Don Martindale is one of the best defensive coordinators in the league, and the Ravens are still absolutely stacked
everywhere. Calais Campbell, Derek Wolfe, and Brandon Williams up front. Patrick Queen and Malik Harrison up the middle. Marcus Peters, Marlon Humphrey, Jimmy Smith, and Tavon Young at corner. DeShon Elliott and Chuck Clark at safety. Oh, and they added Odafe Oweh and Daelin Hayes in the draft to supplement Pernell McPhee and Tyus Bowser on the edge. They drafted Shaun Wade one of the nation’s best slot corners in 2019 before he got torched as an outside corner in 2020 in the fifth round and landed diminutive ball-hawk Ad’Dari
Ravens News 5/21: Serving Youth and more
Top priority: Lean on your rookie class.
First-round wideout Rashod Bateman was brought on board to start right away inside an offense looking to “expand our profile” and “play with the kind of balance that we really want to play with,” according to Baltimore’s play-caller, Greg Roman. Feisty fourth-round receiver Tylan Wallace
feels like a Raven, while third-round guard Ben Cleveland has a shot to win a starting job. On defense, first-round pass rusher Odafe Oweh is all but locked in for a lead role after Baltimore’s other edges Tyus Bowser, Pernell McPhee and Jaylon Ferguson collectively piled up just seven sacks in 2020. It cuts against the grain of Baltimore’s typical approach to youth, but the Ravens can’t ignore the newbies in 2021.
Ravens Outside Linebacker Jaylon Ferguson Facing Make or Break Season?
Third-year player needs more production.
Author:
Ravens outside linebacker Jaylon Ferguson faces a critical season.
The third-year player from Louisiana Tech needs to start living up to his nickname Sack Daddy.
Ferguson, who was selected by the Ravens in their round (85th overall) of the 2019 NFL Draft, has amassed just 4.5 sacks over his career.
The Ravens selected a pair of edge rushers Odafe Oweh and Daelin Hayes in this year s draft and both players will be pushing for playing time.
Baltimore defensive coordinator Don Martindale is confident Ferguson is going to be more productive this season.