Trey Hendrickson Did Not Have A Sack In Ravens Debut, But Made A Huge Impact In Win

Trey Hendrickson did not register a sack in his Ravens debut.

It did not matter.

Henrickson was bending the edge and create problems for quarterback Daniel Jones and the Colts offensive line and he was showing up on drive after drive in a manner very few edge players employed by the Ravens have in quite some time. He was the most constant presence for a pass rush that, while not overpowering, was certainly present and lingering and helped the Ravens thrash the Colts, 41-23, in Week 1.

Perhaps the mind’s eye is distorted by years of watching try-hard guys and over-drafted quasi-rushers pretend to get home. Maybe I am guilty of grading too much on a curve. When the Ravens couldn’t find anyone with more than five sacks in them last season, you start to lower expectations. But Hendrickson looks different and mixes up his attacks and offers an array of moves in a toolkit that’s been sorely lacking in Baltimore

Hendrickson, basically paid $60M for two years after the Ravens pulled out of the Maxx Crosby trade with the Raiders, is expected to be a difference maker. That he was Sunday, with five pressures and five hurries as a commanding presence, and he clearly helped create opportunities for whomever was on the opposite side – usually Tavius Robinson (four pressures and four quarterback hits!) and sometimes hybrid safety Kyle Hamilton brought on the blitz.

“Just really my teammates,” Robinson said after the game about his breakout performance, “and the fact we talked about it all week and the way we worked all week. Just the way we play off each other. I give credit to my coaches and my teammates.”

The Colts knew plenty about Hendrickson and what he likes to do, as his longtime coordinator Lou Anarumo, who he went to a Super Bowl with as a Bengal, runs the Colts defense. There just wasn't much they could do about it.

A Commanding Presence

It’s no coincidence Robinson took off with Hendrickson on the other side. Minter felt comfortable enough with Hendrickson’s abilities that he was willing to play nickel as his base (five defensive backs) and play a lot of dime coverage too (six defensive backs) and only two snaps in 3-4, and still generate pressure. Even with his best defensive players, All Pro defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike, still out recovering from neck surgery but getting close.

The Ravens had 17 pressures as a team and Minter only blitzed 29% of the time (he did bring Hamilton seven times, tying second most of his career, with his getting two pressures and a QB hit and hurry; not quite what he did against the Colts in 2023, but not bad, either). Playing all that dime and all that zone (77%) are hallmarks of his defense that he’d love to maintain, but the ability to win up front without additional numbers make that happen. And doing it without Madubuike was a very good sign.

Jones, in his first game back from an Achilles repair, never got comfortable after a great opening drive and was a non factor on bootlegs and any sort of misdirection outside the pocket. His health may have had something to do with it, clearly, but the Ravens work on the edge did too.

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