As I’ve mentioned before, the Baltimore Ravens are entering a golden age thanks to good drafting and a movement to their young players. One of the best examples is Baltimore’s secondary where the Ravens have the second-best trio of cornerbacks, according to Pro Football Focus.
Pro Football Focus put Baltimore’s trio down as Jimmy Smith, Marlon Humphrey and Tavon Young.
There’s no arguing Humphrey is one of the best cornerbacks in the league right now. According to PFF, Humphrey’s 52.5% catch rate ranked as the seventh-best among cornerbacks last year. His 22.5% forced incompletion rate was third in the NFL. What’s crazy is Humphrey still hasn’t hit his ceiling. It wouldn’t be a big shock to see Humphrey step it up yet again in his third season to become one of the few true shutdown cornerbacks in the league.
Young has been another impressive member of Baltimore’s youthful secondary — earning him a long-term contract extension this offseason. In his rookie campaign, Young earned a 76.3 overall grade and a 75.6 coverage grade from PFF. Sadly, a torn ACL during OTAs that ended his 2017 season likely had an impact in 2018, leading to a down year. But fully healthy, it’s expected Young will be a major impact player in many of the Ravens’ defensive schemes in 2019 and get back to his old form quickly.
Smith has been Baltimore’s premier cornerback for nearly a decade. Though recent years haven’t been kind to Smith thanks to injuries and suspensions, he’s still been a key part of the Ravens’ defense. When healthy and on the field, Smith has played at a Pro Bowl level, especially in 2017 before tearing his Achilles tendon late in the year. However, much like Young last year, the 2017 injury likely limited Smith last year leading to a down season. But in a contract year and fully healthy, Smith is likely penciled in as the starter opposite Humphrey for Baltimore.
However, I contend the Ravens have the best cornerback unit when you consider Brandon Carr is also on the roster. While, as PFF noted, Smith has bounced between good and great at times, Carr was significantly better last year (71.9 coverage grade for Carr compared to 63.2 coverage grade for Smith). Even if Carr doesn’t get the starting nod, he’s allowed no better than a 70.6 passer rating against him since joining Baltimore in 2017.
It would be a disservice to ignore the improvement seen during Anthony Averett’s rookie season as well. In for 47 passing plays, Averett allowed just two receptions last year, leading to a 45.8 passer rating against him. If Averett continues to make that type of impact and develops, he could easily follow Humphrey’s path and begin to really break out this season.
The Ravens’ cornerbacks have a lot of pressure on them this season. Baltimore saw pass rushers Terrell Suggs and Za’Darius Smith leave in the offseason. With no real replacement for their production, the Ravens’ cornerbacks will have to step up their game and cover for a little longer than they’d probably like this season. Going up against wide receivers like Odell Beckham Jr., Jarvis Landry, JuJu Smith-Schuster and A.J. Green add to the difficulty level. But if Baltimore can live up to their history and current expectations, they should fare well.
