Ravens Kyle Hamilton Named Potential Breakout Player
Baltimore Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton could be set for a big year in 2023 as he is expected to play an even bigger role in the secondary.
Pro Football Focus recently wrote a piece about Hamilton being "poised" for a breakout season as he is set to assume the starting role opposite of Marcus Williams following the trade that sent Chuck Clark to the New York Jets. But how does the trade of Clark affect him?
Well, as a rookie, Hamilton played most of his snaps, 354, as a slot cornerback, according to PFF. Hamilton's position change was due to his struggles at free safety, which forced him to be versatile.
But even with Clark no longer on the roster for this coming season, the Ravens are not expected to move Hamilton back to free safety. PFF says that the Ravens should utilize Hamilton similarly to how the Los Angeles Chargers use Derwin James, who spent the majority of his snaps in the box.
For reference, Hamilton played 460 of his 894 total snaps in the slot/box for the Ravens compared to James' 530 of 909. PFF's reasoning for this is backed up by their grades which shows that Hamilton played like one of the best in the league in that role.
"Among defensive backs that played at least 200 coverage snaps in the slot/box after Week 2, Hamilton ranked sixth in PFF coverage grade (80.3) and was tied for fifth with 12 tackles resulting in a defensive stop," PFF writes. "In this new role, Hamilton was able to read and react and suddenly started erasing shorter routes like screens."
Hamilton totaled 62 tackles, four for a loss, with five passes defended and one forced fumble after starting in four of the 16 games he played. Now, he will be looking for a big season with a larger role.
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