Training camp presents an unparalleled opportunity for rookies, practice squad regulars and otherwise overlooked players to make their mark. Each summer without fail, it seems as if stars emerge from the fold who use training camp as their springboard to much greater things.
While it’s anyone’s guess as to who, if anyone, might fit that bill for the Baltimore Ravens this season, linebacker Chris Board has about a good a case as anyone else on the team.
Board — an undrafted free agent who played college ball at North Dakota State — appears to find himself entering his second season with the perfect combination of both opportunity and talent.
Opportunity, because Board and Baltimore’s other linebackers get to divvy up the 875 snaps vacated by departed linebacker C.J. Mosley. Though Patrick Onwuasor appears to be in line to receive the lion’s share of playing time as Mosley’s heir, Board and fellow second-year linebacker Kenny Young are positioned to get a lot more visibility this season.
As for talent, the Ravens coaching staff seems to think that Board has it in spades. Board clearly impressed the coaches during June’s minicamp, as evidenced by their glowing remarks.
“He can run,” said Baltimore defensive coordinator Don Martindale on June 12. “I mean, my goodness, he can run. He played out in a lot of space at North Dakota State really as a nickel, and now he’s starting to … His instincts are really showing up as an inside ‘backer. All he does is he just puts his head down and goes to work every day, and he’s battling for a spot. He’s battling for a spot.”
“I think Chris Board is playing like a starter,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said on June 13.
Though Board undoubtedly has his work cut out for him — he has only 14 career defensive snaps and was primarily a special teams player in 2018 — it’s hard to deny that his stock is trending upwards heading into the all-important training camp.
