Ravens 1st round pick, Marlon Humphrey off to a good start

Marlon Humphrey is off to a good start as the Ravens are just getting training camp rolling:

The Baltimore Ravens took Marlon Humphrey with the 16th pick of the draft. From the beginning, I loved this pick. I even picked Humphrey for the Ravens in the FanSided Mock Draft. This draft season I made my own big board and I had the Alabama cornerback as the 10th best player on the board. To my shock, many called Humphrey a reach, but at pick 16 that was great value. Humphrey has a high ceiling and I think he will end up being a long-time starter for the Ravens.

Humphrey is incredibly talented. The three big wide receivers from the draft class were already off the board. There were a bunch of pass rushers the Ravens could take later (and they took three of them). This was a great common sense pick. Humphrey looks the part. He has the size and the athletic ability to be special. Don’t forget he can tackle better than most cornerbacks.

I was a big Humphrey fan, before he was even a member of the purple and black. So it’s nice to see that he can make big plays, albeit in training camp against Ryan Mallet.

Must Read: Early headlines from Ravens training camp

What I love about the highlight the Ravens tweeted out, is that Humphrey made a play down the field against the speedy Breshad Perriman. He was in great position, and he jumped in front of the route and made a great play. We knew that Humphrey was aggressive and that he could jump routes. On this play, Humphrey put himself in the right place to make the play.

Could he be a starter?

This tweet by the Baltimore Sun’s Jeff Zrebiec is music to my eyes. It looks like Humphrey is being the feisty and fiery player that he was with the Crimson Tide. It is important to note that interceptions were up for grabs yesterday, with bad quarterback play being the theme of the practice. It’s still incredibly early. Humphrey has impressed, but this is just the beginning and he has a lot of work to do.

It will be interesting to see if Humphrey can work his way into the number two cornerback role by the end of the preseason. If I was Dean Pees, I would want to see what Humphrey can do against another team’s starters. He should be given the chance to prove what he can do. We know what Jimmy Smith and Brandon Carr can do. We need to see Humphrey in a full speed, full contact, and real game situation.

The Bottom Line:

Things are looking good for the Ravens first round pick. Ronnie Stanley made the most of his rookie season, so this could be the second straight first round stud for Ozzie Newsome. The Ravens could certainly use some home grown talent booming in their secondary. This is an exciting start for Humphrey. My hopes were already up. Now they’re soaring.

Next: Unpacking the Ravens backup quarterback situation

Keep it locked into Ebony Bird all season long. We have you covered. Today we broke down the back up quarterback situation. Yesterday we got into the retirement of John Urschel and some important takes on the days Ravens news. Keep coming back, this is the one stop destination for Ravens fans.