The Ravens’ rookies played the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday in what might have been their second-best defensive performance of the season. The two rookies on special teams probably had the best days of the entire class.
Malaki Starks
Starks has taken a lot of heat this season, and rightfully so: the first-round pick hasn’t lived up to expectations. It was another tough day for Starks, with a 43.1 PFF grade. His run, tackling and pass rush grades were all 60.0 or above, but his coverage grade was 43.1.
However, it’s
hard to put all of the blame for the team’s defensive woes on him. First, remember that Kyle Hamilton also struggled as a rookie, especially early on, contributing heavily to the blown game against Miami in Baltimore in 2022. Second, he’s a rookie safety playing 100% of snaps with a lot of responsibilities on a bad defense. Right now, the biggest goal for him is to limit devastating mistakes and hope for flashes the rest of the season. Then ideally, an offseason of training and some changes in the organization can prepare him for a big sophomore year.
Mike Green
Similar to Starks, Green’s rookie season is a disappointment considering the talent that was advertised. Green actually had one of his best days according to PFF, with a 65.0 grade. While he performed well in the other grading categories, the frustrating part is that his pass rush grade was a 55.5, as part of a poor showing by a group of edge rushers that failed to record a single pressure in the game.
Green is firmly entrenched as a high snap count player, with Odafe Oweh being traded away, Tavius Robinson going down with an injury, and Adisa Isaac still weeks away from a return. With only three healthy players, the outside linebacker room is going to get reinforcements during the bye week. Even so, Green’s role and snap count will likely not change much. Similar to Starks, the hope is that Green can show flashes as his rookie season goes on and then an offseason of adding NFL-level strength will boost him into year two.
Teddye Buchanan
With Roquan Smith still out, Buchanan took 100% of the snaps again like last week. While he once again struggled to process as the top inside backer for the team (a 48.2 run grade and a 62.4 coverage grade), he had a great day showing off his athleticism as a run-and-tackle player (an 81.8 tacking grade and 73.3 pass rush grade). He finished with a team-leading nine tackles along with two pressures, including his first career sack. Smith is expected to return after the bye week, allowing Buchanan to reduce his responsibilities and focus on what he can do to help the team now. Though the team has praised Trenton Simpson’s play since Smith went down, he is more likely to take more snaps as a SAM outside linebacker, further entrenching Buchanan’s role as the ILB2.
Tyler Loop
It was a pretty uneventful day for Tyler Loop. He hit his only kick on the Ravens’ first drive, good from 37 yards. He didn’t have another kick attempt the rest of the day and was clean on his kickoff attempts once again, no small feat against the wind. With the bye week coming, it wouldn’t shock me if the special teams staff and Loop work on more different types of kickoffs. They will have to weigh the risk of more illegal kickoff penalties in the future against the field position benefits. Some more creative kicks are definitely a possibility coming out of the bye.
LaJohntay Wester
Wester had his worst moment of the season, fumbling a punt return right before the end of the second quarter and seemingly ending the Ravens’ chance to break out of a 3-3 tie before halftime. Fortunately, the play was called back due to a penalty on the Rams, giving Wester a second try. He didn’t disappoint. The rookie wideout confidently fielded the punt along the sideline, quickly got north and south and showed some wiggle for a 35-yard return. It set the Ravens up for their best opportunity of the day (that they promptly wasted).
Aeneas Peebles
Peebles was shockingly a healthy scratch against the Rams. With no defensive line call-ups, this left the roster with just four defensive linemen, none of whom were true 3-techs. Predictably, after purposely shorting the unit, Brent Urban went down for a little while, further knocking the group down to just three bodies. Urban did manage to return, luckily, but I don’t predict seeing Peebles being a healthy scratch again soon. The Ravens clearly don’t trust him as a run defender, but bodies and depth are required. Plus, Peebles does bring a certain pass-rush juice and element that the other rostered linemen don’t have, even Travis Jones.
UDFAs:
With the returns of Kyle Hamilton and Marlon Humphrey and the addition of Alohi Gilman, the UDFA roles have plummeted. After Keyon Martin and Reuben Lowery struggled mightily against Houston, the Ravens sought change and found it. Keyon Martin’s role was deleted, playing just one snap with Humphrey’s return to the slot and Hamilton’s role change down into the box. Lowery himself was waived off the roster and then claimed by the Indianapolis Colts, ending his career in Baltimore for now. However, it’s worth remembering that Geno Stone was claimed by the Texans in 2020 before returning to Baltimore and eventually breaking out in 2023. Meanwhile, Jay Higgins never saw the field during the two weeks Roquan Smith has been out and will remain relegated to special teams duties with the veteran expected to return in Week 8.
