Throughout the 2025 NFL season, SB Nation’s Doug Farrar will write about the game’s Secret Superstars — those players whose performances might slip under the radar for whatever reasons. In this installment,
we focus on Ravens defensive back Alohi Gilman, whose arrival in Baltimore set the pace for a radical defensive improvement.
Most NFL trades don’t work out for both teams, but there are exceptions. Matthew Stafford for Jared Goff and the draft picks that helped the Detroit Lions build their current roster, while the Los Angeles Rams won their second Super Bowl with Stafford, who’s still playing at an MVP level at age 37. The Minnesota Vikings trading receiver Stefon Diggs to the Buffalo Bills for draft picks, including the one that became Justin Jefferson. The Kansas City Chiefs sending Jared Allen to the Minnesota Vikings for draft picks that became running back Jamaal Charles and offensive tackle Branden Albert, among others.
The majority of trades don’t show win-win results right away, but there’s one that has done just that. On October 7, the Harbaugh Brothers executed a deal that sent Baltimore Ravens edge-rusher Odafe Oweh to the Los Angeles Chargers for defensive back Alohi Gilman. So far, both players are excelling in their new environments in unexpected ways. Oweh has four sacks and 12 total pressures in four games with the Chargers, as opposed to no sacks and 12 pressures in five games with the Ravens, but as this is a Ravens site, let’s focus on the guy that John’s team got in the deal, as opposed to Jim’s new favorite pass-rusher.
Through Week 6, the 2025 Ravens’ defense was one of the NFL’s worst, and given all the injuries, it didn’t look as if any relief was on the horizon. That Ravens defense allowed an opponent passer rating of 108.6, fifth-worst in the NFL, and allowed 14 touchdowns to just one interception. Those Ravens allowed an NFL-worst 32.3 points per game, and the EPA per play allowed overall was… not great — +0.145, third-worst in the league.
Gilman did play in Week 6 for the Ravens, who suffered a frustrating 17-3 loss to a Rams team that thought it perfectly acceptable to debut Sean McVay’s new fascination with 13 personnel to great effect.
Basically, the Ravens’ defense scared nobody. But since Week 6 and the bye that followed, things have gotten a lot better. Over their last two games — wins over the Chicago Bears and the Miami Dolphins — these new Ravens have allowed 11 points per game, second-best in the NFL, and their EPA per play allowed of -0.086 is the NFL’s 10th-best.
How Gilman has affected the defense in a positive sense is as much about what he allows Kyle Hamilton to do as whatever Gilman does on the field. Last season, the Ravens saved their defense in the second half of the season by switching Hamilton from his usual do-it-all thing to more of a deep safety. This season, it’s been the exact opposite. With Gilman and Malaki Starks patrolling the deep third, Hamilton has been far more of a box player. Hamilton has lined up in the box more than 50% of the time over the last three games, and that’s the first time he’s done so that much in his career.
It also helps that Gilman and Hamilton played together at Notre Dame for a time.
“It’s like riding a bike,” Gilman said of his partnership with Hamilton, following Baltimore’s 28-6 win over the Miami Dolphins last Thursday night. “It’s like two homeboys playing pickup at the YMCA, so me and ‘K-Ham’ just picked up where we left off. We, obviously, connect on a different level, because we have some experiences together. We have similar personalities. I don’t know if it’s the Notre Dame in us, but that connection is easy, and I’m just happy to be around him. He’s one of the best, if not the best guy in the league, and to be around him, to make plays with him, I’m just having a blast doing it.”
It’s been a blast for everyone in Baltimore, and the trade for ex-Tennessee Titans pass-rusher Dre’Mont Jones could lessen the sting of the Oweh loss.
Maybe it’s time to start believing in this Ravens defense once again.
