Ravens Preseason Snap Counts: Who Played the Most?

The Ravens did not lean nearly as heavily into their rookie class in the second preseason game as they did in the first.

Make of that what you will.

Perhaps, rookie head coach Jesse Minter just wanted to get a longer look at middling veterans. Maybe they liked so much of what they saw in the opener that they didn’t feel the need to duplicate that Saturday. Maybe the challenges brought by a unique defense gave then some pause. Maybe they had this plan all along.

Playing more doesn’t always indicate import – in fact a lot of times it’s just the opposite. We don’t have many repeat winners here in the snap count by position group, but on the offensive line and at quarterback the undrafted rookies continue to get the heaviest run. Here are your leaders from Saturday:

RT Gerad Lichtenhan

Okay, so he didn’t play every single snap at right tackle like he did in the opener. But he did play 45 snaps against the Vikings and at this point they see something they like in the undrafted rookie out of Oregon State (beyond just his size (6-foot-8, 330 pounds).

He played 10 more snaps than anyone else on the offensive line and will be in line for another big outing Friday. Would imagine they see practice squad potential here. The entire line has room for improvement after this outing but this is a body type that merits some work.

QB Joe Fagnano

This kid continues to impress. Held up against the blitz. Didn’t play quite as much as in the opener as back-up Snoop Huntley got more of a run, so it was 28 snaps this time. He is definitely on the practice squad and there is some potential for him as a future backup if he keeps this up.

WR Devontez Walker

As noted, the rookies didn’t get as long a look at this spot. Ja’Kobi Lane (third round) played just 17 snaps and Elijah Sarratt (fourth round) logged just six snaps. Might this have something to do with the fact that starting wide receiver Rashod Bateman is facing three charges of family violence his time away from the team in June, with some ugly details from the police report coming from TMZ.

Either way, Walker played 30 snaps and he has the skillet to, frankly, phase out the brooding and oft-disgruntled Bateman, who this franchise should have moved on from and upgraded on in the past for pure football reasons.

TE Josh Cuevas

He got more of a run than fellow rookie draft pick Matthew Hibner (27 snaps), on the field for 33 plays in leading this tepid offense with 46 receiving yards. Showed up for some under center play action shots early in the game. Has more of a chance to maybe, kinda hold up a little in a blocking role than Hibner. Maybe.

RB Jonathan Ward

He just got signed and saw regular action in this game. Rasheen Ali and rookie Adam Randall were both out with injuries. Depth at this spot was always in question. Ward played 25 snaps. The line was not good and the run game was pretty ugly (2.6 yards/carry as a team).

LB Jay Higgins

Higgens led all Ravens, regardless of position, with 56 snaps played. Baltimore was on the field for 61 snaps on defense, so this was quite a run. He was knocked from the last game with an injury and he and rookie undrafted free agent Dominic DeLuca got active on some early blitzes and formed a nice tandem.

DeLuca led all Ravens linebackers in snaps last week and came in second on the team with 47 snaps played in this one. Undrafted linebacker Ethan Burke was all over the place in this game as well. We hear the Ravens are paying close attention to a former draft pick this summer, too looking for an understudy for Roquan Smith, with more knowledge and experience in this system.

DB Silas Walters/Chandler Rivers

They each played 36 snaps. Rivers, a late round pick with the body type to handle gadget guys in the slot, got active with the slot blitz. Walters had issues in coverage, getting tangled up and not able to high point some jumpballs, but finished strong with an interception. The Ravens didn’t even risk it much with another young slot corner as Keyon Martin, who is on this team, played just 17 snaps.

Keondre Jackson led the safeties in snaps with 35 and continues to shine when he blitzes from the slot or even takes off from the second level.

DL Kaiman Rucker

He flashed off the edge and showed some motor and bit of a pass rush plan. The UNC product spent last season on the practice squad and had a good week of practice against the Vikings and played 29 snaps Saturday. He produced two pressures and would seem like someone they want to stick around for depth again this season.

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