It had been an eerily quiet offseason for the Ravens for the longest I can remember.. perhaps in maybe more than 10 years. Seemed like Ravens let go of more players than they added to replace the ones they lost in free agency. While the rest of the AFC was busy stockpiling their rosters and getting better, the Ravens were hiding like a wounded animal in a corner. Couldn't help but feel an air of uncertainty in regards to their upcoming 2022 season that is until the Draft happened last night.
Ravens have always been an active prescence and a major player when it comes to the Draft. With the moves they made in the 1st round there is a little bit more clarity on what we may expect in 2022. During the Draft some interesting developments and tidbits unfolded. Ravens were definitely interested in moving up to get one of the top 2 corners Sauce and Stingley Jr but they fell way too early. They also wanted to get Walker and Hutch but 1-2-3-4 just like that all 4 gone and back to the drawing board. However this set them up to grab perhaps what many are saying was the biggest "steal" of the 1st round. Ravens got the next best DB available and best safety on the board: Kyle Hamilton.
After reviewing this pick it made so much more sense why the Ravens got him. Even though Safety isn't a big need for Ravens as they got Chuck Clark, Marcus Williams and like 3 other backup safeties on the roster they still went and got Hamilton anyway. His versatility and ranginess on the field will be indispensable when going up against 3 headed monsters like Chase, Higgins, Boyd. Ravens defense could employ 3 safeties on the field at once with Hump and Peters locking down man to man. New coordinator Mike MacDonald is going to have fun with the defensive schemes and the potential flexibility it could offer. It will be hard to throw on this defense, when healthy it has potential to be one of the best secondaries in the league. Ravens still need more depth at corner though and a pass rusher which has been hit and miss under Eric DeCosta to be honest. Hope he can nail one in the later rounds and keep that player for more than 2 years. The turnover in these two departments has been noticeably alarming. BTw, This isn't a total knock on EDC because he has pulled off some brilliant moves but just needs to be a little more consistent with his draft picks.