Improvement of Baltimore Ravens Pass Coverage Can Truly Unlock Mike Green's Potential

Even before the Baltimore Ravens and new head coach Jesse Minter decided to bring Anthony Weaver back on staff this offseason to serve as the defensive coordinator, he was a huge fan of second-year outside linebacker Mike Green.

Last year, when he was serving in the same role for the Miami Dolphins, Green was the "top or two" ranked outside linebacker prospect on the team's board heading into the 2025 NFL Draft, and now he is elated for the opportunity to help groom him into a consistent game wrecker.

"I love Mike Green," Weaver said. "To be here now and have the opportunity to get my hands on him and work with him a little bit, as well as [outside linebackers coach] Harland Bower – who has been outstanding – [we're] super excited."

Weaver was so happy to get to inherit a talent like Green, who flashed at times as a rookie and only fell out of the first round last year based on off-field issues from his past and talent, that he made him a film "cut-up" of all the near sacks he could've had in his first season had he gotten there a hair or fraction of a second faster.

FIRST CAREER SACK FOR MIKE GREEN!

Tune on CBS! pic.twitter.com/VL6yZdTIvp
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) October 26, 2025

"I showed him just how close he was to potentially having a double-digit sack season," Weaver said. "It's not an ability thing. We need the corresponding coverage to help out, but he is milliseconds away from having double-digit sacks, and we are going to do everything we can to try to make that happen this year."

When Green watched the clips of himself, he didn't feel as bad about recording only 3.5 sacks in his first season as a pro, after leading the country in his final year in college with 17 at Marshall University.

"I think that cut-up showed me a lot about myself," Green said in a recent appearance on 'The Lounge' podcast. "Even though I feel like I didn't necessarily meet the standard that I wanted to meet last year, I came very close."

Upgrades in secondary will pay major dividends for pass rush

Baltimore Ravens coach Jesse Minter speaks at the NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center on Feb 24, 2026. — Feb 24, 2026; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Baltimore Ravens coach Jesse Minter speaks at the NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The best defenses in the league feature a harmonious relationship between front and back end because the better the coverage, the more time the pass rushers have to disrupt and bring down opposing quarterbacks. Even when the Ravens were able to generate some pressure last season, their coverage unit failed to hold up long enough for trench players like Green to get home often.

As impactful as the addition of four-time Pro Bowl pass rusher Trey Hendrickson will be at getting Green more one-on-one opportunities to get after the quarterback, the hiring of a new coaching staff with assistants who specialize in coaching up defensive backs will go a long way toward getting him those precious milliseconds to get home.

Along with Minter, they also brought in Mike Mickens as the defensive pass game coordinator and secondary coach and P.J. Volker as the safeties coach. Both were viewed as rising stars in the coaching profession in the college ranks, destined for the pros, and now they're here.

In free agency, the Ravens brought back veteran corner Chidobe Awuzie, who was their most consistent player at the position last year. They also added veteran Jaylinn Hawkins to give them their best safety trio since the 2023 season, when they led the league in sacks and had the AFC leader in interceptions.

The Ravens are only one season removed from having a pair of edge defenders record double-digit sacks. One of them was 2021 first-rounder Odafe Oweh, who logged 10.5 sacks in 13 games under Minter after being traded to the Los Angeles Chargers last season, and the other was Pro Bowl veteran Kyle Van Noy, who remains a free agent after recording just two sacks last season.

While neither remains on the roster, Green has the potential to be the next in line to reach that impressive benchmark, especially if he consistently gets more time to finish plays provided by improved coverage downfield and at the intermediate level.

"When Coach [Weaver] put up all those clips of me being this close, it kind of it brings light to me and it inspires me to acknowledge how talented I am," Green said. "But also to acknowledge how close I was to being able to have these double-digit sacks."

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