The Baltimore Ravens’ thrilling win over the Dallas Cowboys in Brazil gave us an opportunity to take a closer look at a few different players this week. Carson Vinson made his first NFL start at left tackle, Zion Young became more involved against the run, and Calais Campbell reminded everyone that even in Year 19, ability doesn’t simply disappear.
LT Carson Vinson
64 snaps | 28 pass blocking | 36 run blocking | 0 pressures allowed
Vinson made his first NFL start at left tackle for the Ravens on Sunday, and while there
was plenty to like, there were also some areas that showed where his development still needs to continue.
As a run blocker, Vinson flashed his movement skills and ability to work through combination blocks. On one rep, he did a nice job bouncing off a defensive tackle, climbing to the linebacker and sealing the second-level defender to create a lane for the running back. On another, however, Cowboys DT Quinnen Williams was able to overpower Vinson at the point of attack, work into the backfield and record a tackle for loss.
That sequence highlighted one of the biggest areas of improvement remaining in Vinson’s game: functional strength and consistently playing behind his pads. If he is eventually going to take the mantle from Ronnie Stanley at left tackle, that part of his game will have to continue developing.
In pass protection, there were some encouraging signs. Vinson showed good range when handling stunts and twists and displayed sound kick-step technique with solid punch timing. His ability to keep a clean sheet and finish the game without allowing a pressure was certainly encouraging.
There were still reps where the process wasn’t quite as clean as the result. On multiple snaps, Vinson was walked backward by edge rushers converting speed to power. On another, he landed a solid initial strike but lost his grip, allowing the defender to work back inside. Once again, those reps pointed toward grip strength and functional power as two important areas of development.
Overall, it was not a bad first NFL start for the 2025 fifth-round pick. Vinson showed that he can provide capable tackle play when called upon. The bigger question is whether he showed enough to suggest he can eventually become the Ravens’ long-term answer at left tackle, and that remains to be seen.
OLB Zion Young
26 snaps | 14 run defense | 12 pass rush | 1 pressure | 1 TFL
Young’s statistics may not jump off the page, but he did a lot of impressive dirty work for the Ravens on Sunday while also showing development in some of the areas we questioned in his original scouting report.
One of the biggest questions surrounding Young was his get-off and overall quick-twitch ability. Against Dallas we got a glimpse of improvement in that area. On one rep, the Cowboys tackle beat Young off the snap, but the rookie recovered quickly, reduced his surface area and slipped past the block to bring down the running back for a short gain. It was an encouraging example of improved reaction time and recovery speed.
Young’s physicality at the point of attack also continued to show up. On one snap, he engaged the tackle and rode him laterally down the line of scrimmage before working off the block to make the tackle. On another, he met a tight end sliding across the formation head-on, maintained his position and wrapped up the ball carrier. He also showed his ability to set a hard edge, creating another tackle for loss in the run game.
While the second-round pick only recorded one pressure, he finished with a 50% win rate on true pass sets, an encouraging sign for a player whose early role has required him to do plenty of work that won’t necessarily appear on the stat sheet.
Young’s power and physicality were not questions coming out of college. The important development will be whether he can continue adding quickness, reaction speed and counters to that foundation. Sunday provided some encouraging signs that those parts of his game are beginning to develop.
DT Calais Campbell
32 snaps | 7 run defense | 24 pass rush | 1 coverage | 6 pressures
In the first two games of the season, Calais Campbell made a solid impact on the field, but his play didn’t pop on tape.
One of the things I appreciate most when evaluating defensive linemen is simply whether they are consistently hitting the quarterback. Sacks can fluctuate from week to week, but consistently getting the quarterback on the ground or forcing him to absorb contact is usually a good indication that a pass rusher is getting extremely close to finishing those opportunities. Campbell did exactly that against Dak Prescott, delivering two significant hits on the Cowboys quarterback.
Campbell’s club move still hits like a heavy-handed boxer. His combination of length, mass and upper-body strength gives him a natural advantage against offensive linemen, and we saw that translate into disruption throughout the game. On one rep, Campbell crashed into the center, created immediate displacement and then ripped through the block to penetrate the pocket.
That combination of power and length has been the foundation of Campbell’s game for nearly two decades, and even in Year 19, it remains extremely difficult for offensive linemen to deal with when he is playing with proper leverage and timing.
Given the uniqueness of Campbell’s offseason situation, it was always reasonable to expect that he might need a few weeks to ramp himself back up to the level of play we have become accustomed to seeing. His performance against Dallas looked much closer to that version of the six-time Pro Bowler.
The Ravens are going to need that version of him later in the season. When the weather gets colder, games become more physical and Baltimore needs someone capable of creating disruption from the interior, Campbell’s combination of size, length and power can still be an important piece of this defensive front.
Snap counts and advanced metrics via Pro Football Focus.
