Baltimore Ravens Rookie Geno Stone Embraces Underdog Role

Safety can also make an impact on special teams

As Geno Stone watched dozens and dozens of players get selected before him in the 2020 NFL Draft, he was not the least bit discouraged. 

He spent most of his life as the underdog, why would this situation be any different?

Stone was eventually selected by the Ravens in the seventh round (219th overall). For some analysts, there was never really any underdog role for Stone, who tabbed as the "steal of the draft." 

"Sitting there that long was kind of stressful," Stone said. "I'm not going to lie; I didn't even watch the sixth round at all. I was really just sitting in my room waiting for my phone call if I ever got one. That whole sixth round, I didn't watch it at all. Then I decided to watch the seventh round. It definitely puts a chip on my shoulder. 

"I mean, I always had one my whole life. I've always been overlooked and been an underdog. I know what I have to do to be on the field. I just need an opportunity. Getting selected in the NFL Draft is a dream come true. But all I needed was an opportunity to get my foot in the door, and I'm going to show why I should stick and last in the NFL.”

Last season, Stone started all 13 games at strong safety for the Hawkeyes and finished with 70 tackles, including 46 solo stops and 24 assists. He also had three tackles for loss, one sack, four pass breakups, three forces fumbles, two quarterback pressures, one interception, and one recovered fumble.

Stone was named second-team All-Big Ten by league coaches and second-team All-Big Ten by The Associated Press.

“I think it's just when you watch the film, you watch him back there, and they use him as like the field safety," Baltimore Director of Player Personnel Joe Hortiz said. "So, he's rolled down in underneath coverage, and they also played him on the hash. And you just watch how he processes things.

"He's really quick to pick up routes coming across. [He] drives up quick, takes things away, shows a feel for the quarterback. He can identify run action quickly. So, what you do is you watch the guy process what he's seeing as the play is going on."

The Ravens already have a talented group of safeties with Earl Thomas III and Chuck Clark as the starters with DeShon Elliott and veteran Anthony Levine Sr. as the key reserves. Stone will have an opportunity to work his way into that rotation and he can also play a key role on specials teams, which is a valued skill by coach John Harbaugh.

Stone is looking forward to learning from some those Ravens' veteran players.

"I was sitting with my mentor, Will Allen. I'm pretty sure everyone knows him," he said. "But I was sitting with him and I was talking, and I was like, ‘I hope I get drafted somewhere with a great mentor. A Will Allen, Tyrann Mathieu or Earl Thomas – someone like that.’ 

"It was crazy, because once I got the phone call from the Ravens ... Just to learn from a guy like that who’s been playing for so many years, playing at a high level, won a Super Bowl, everything like that … It just checks all the boxes of that's someone you want to learn from. You want to follow in their footsteps.”

While Stone might have a chip on his shoulder about not being drafted until the seventh round, some analysts expect him to become a star player in the NFL. 

"When looking at our Big Board rank compared to where prospects were actually taken, Stone was the biggest steal in the draft," wrote Pro Football Focus' Anthony Treash.