Early Impressions: Ravens Like Their Revamped Secondary
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — The Ravens have three former first-round picks at cornerback — Marlon Humphrey, Marcus Peters and newly signed Kyle Fuller.
All three have the Pro Bowl over their careers.
Each of them has the ability to change the complexion of the game. The key now is to stay on the field.
The Ravens also added playmakers in the draft with safety Kyle Hamilton and cornerbacks Jalyn Armour-Davis and Demarion Williams.
“I like it. I think ‘Pepe’ [Damarion Williams], some of the young corners we’ve got, Kyl, a safety … Marcus will be here next week," Humphrey said. "I’m going to get on a call with Kyle, so [I’m] excited. I’ve heard a lot about him. I’ve heard he’s a really, really smart player. So, I know, with Marcus [Peters] coming back, really smart guy, Kyle, really smart guy, Chuck [Clark] – I think that’s enough smarts where I can just play ball.
"I’m really excited about some of the guys that are here, the young guys and some of the guys that will be here next week working with us.”
Peters suffered a season-ending knee injury in training camp and missed the entire 2021 season.
Humphrey went down with a season-ending pectoral injury in Week 13 at Pittsburgh
Fuller missed the entire 2016 season with a knee injury. However, he's mostly durable and played in 16 games from 2014 to 2015, and then from 2017 through 2021.
The addition of Fuller gives the Ravens more flexibility in the secondary. Fuller is the top option at nickel back, but the team can also move Humphrey inside where he is dominant.
The Ravens also have three safeties — Marcus Williams, Chuck Clark and Kyle Hamilton — that will need to get on the field because of their talent.
It's a good problem to have.
Kyle Fuller is now Raven.
The team just needs to stay healthy.
The Ravens were devastated by injuries this past season and found themselves undermanned in several games, finishing the year at 8-9.
In addition to Peters and Humprhey, Baltimore finished with 25 players on IR, including several key players such as running backs J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards, safety DeShon Elliott and left tackle Ronnie Stanley.
Coach John Harbaugh wants to ensure that does not happen again.
That could be the difference between making a Super Bowl run and missing the playoffs altogether.
"This year, we just got smashed with [injuries]," Harbaugh said. "You can say it’s bad luck. You can say it’s a fluke. I get that, but I don’t feel like we have the luxury to live there. That’s not something that we can say that’s it. We have to turn over every stone. We have to look at every possible avenue to do the best we can to make sure this doesn’t happen again."
