The Baltimore Ravens continue to look for an answer to their struggling defense. While Baltimore has attempted to change their starting lineup, even cutting former third-round pick, outside linebacker Tim Williams last week, the results have largely been the same.
However, there have been a few players stepping up, including rookie outside linebacker Jaylon Ferguson. At Monday’s press conference following the Ravens’ 26-23 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, coach John Harbaugh praised Ferguson’s performance and said he believes his role will continue to expand.
Ferguson had been a healthy scratch for the first two weeks of the season before seeing only a few snaps in Week 3 against the Kansas City Chiefs. But over the last two weeks, Ferguson has gotten more of a chance to shine on the field, playing 21 defensive snaps in each game.
There’s hope Ferguson’s ascension into the lineup will help an ailing pass rush. After starting the season strong, Baltimore’s pass rush has been practically nonexistent for three games now. Over the last three weeks, the Ravens have managed just one sack in each contest and just four quarterback hits combined in the last two weeks.
While Ferguson has no quarterback hits or sacks this season, he was a prolific pass rusher at Louisana Tech. Ferguson’s 45 sacks over four seasons set a new FBS and NCAA record, toppling former Ravens outside linebacker Terrell Suggs’ record in the process. Even if Ferguson never makes huge waves on the stat sheet, getting snaps this season is monumental for his development.
