The Ravens’ roster is pretty legit.
There is consensus among NFL analysts and the sportsbooks about the merits of this football club. Personally, I think a Lombardi Trophy this season is a reach for a multitude of reasons, but they better damn well be a lot more in the mix for it than they were a year ago.
And for as much as the defense better lead the way – given all the resources poured into that unit including a head coach who is basically also the defensive coordinator in Jesse Minter – and despite that being the better and deeper side of the roster, I found myself far more compelled to make the case for off-the-grid players cracking that 53 than I could on offense.
They have deeper depth on defense and there will obviously be injuries and some rookies who just aren’t ready for Day One and there is always variance with NFL rosters. After studying things again this weekend, I kept coming back to three players on defense who might end up uniquely qualified to take advantage of a run of play in the preseason and fight their way on to this football team.
One is a guy I have been banging the drum for consistently since his draft selection, but the other two notsomuch until now.
Rayshaun Benny
Yeah, him again. The seventh-round pick in an 11-man draft class no one is talking about – in part because of the all resources poured into the defensive front this offseason – is going to be make his mark. Too many smart football people continue to vouch for the kid and what he could project to be at the next level with the right coaching … and he is going to get the right coaching.
Will Anthony Weaver fall for him? Yup and for good reason.
I don’t think this young man is going to take anything for granted.
Amani Oruwariye
The secondary should be the strength of this football team and there is a lot already tied up back there in terms of roster commitments. But Minter develops off-the-grid corners with these kinds of metrics and he has the long levers and body type that fit this zone scheme expertly.
There will be injuries and there will be some opportunity. Will top corner Nate Wiggins miss some time early coming back from his undisclosed surgery? Does Marlon Humphrey need more time off his feet (and why wasn’t around at all this spring)? So many of the depth corners here are on the slighter side.
This cat is damn near 6-2, carries 200 pounds easily and had the 12th-best overall athletic score at the CB position in the combine in 2019. Comes from a program at Penn State that general manager Eric DeCosta loves.
He was signed to the practice squad last October and appeared in one game and was re-signed to a futures contract and he did start regularly for the Lions in 2020 and 2021 and appeared in 14 games and started five in 2022. He fits a helluva lot better with how Minter is going to deploy this defense than how Zach Orr did.
Keondre Jackson
The undrafted free agent made an impact on special teams a year ago. Of course, with a massive rookie class coming in and a new coaching staff, that’s going to mean reproving yourself all over again.
Easy to root for and generated some buzz this spring. The safety room got a lot more crowded this year, however, and as noted, the secondary should be the strength of the team. Special teams matters, it’s an area this team must continue to improve upon, so I believe he can force his way onto the roster again.
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