Marlon Humphrey saw extended playing time against the New Orleans Saints in the final preseason game. What we saw from him can give Ravens fans reason for excitement about the first round cornerback.
A lot of people, including myself, were surprised when the Baltimore Ravens selected cornerback Marlon Humphrey out of Alabama with the 16th pick in the 2017 NFL draft. The reason for this surprise was that three other Bama players had fallen to the Ravens that were not mocked to get anywhere close to them. Ozzie Newsome absolutely loves to draft players from the crimson tide, and I figured he would be beside himself with excitement over the fact that three of the best draft prospects from Alabama had fallen to the Ravens.
These three players included DL Jonathan Allen, MLB Reuben Foster and TE O.J. Howard. All three were mocked to go inside of the top 10 picks by most people. Foster had some off the field concerns which dropped him, and Allen had a shoulder injury which concerned teams. The Ravens didn’t have a particular need at any of the positions these three players played though.
Ozzie Newsome always preaches about taking the best player available though. I thought for sure the Ravens were about to draft Allen or Foster. Putting the hard-hitting linebacker Reuben Foster next to fellow Bama star C.J. Mosley would have been something fun to watch. The same can be said for putting Jonathan Allen on an already loaded defensive line. O.J. Howard could be a dangerous weapon at tight end and would have helped a struggling Ravens offense.
Marlon Humphrey fits the style of the Ravens.
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This is why it was quite surprising when the pick was in and it was another Alabama player. cornerback Marlon Humphrey. Humphrey was a player I really liked, but no one really thought he would go as high as pick 16. Looking back now though it’s obvious why Newsome chose him over the other Alabama players still on the board. The Ravens secondary has been their Achilles heel for years now it seems. They have lacked talented depth there, and Marlon finally provides just that.
Marlon Humphrey seems like a very smart and good kid. He’s very young to be in the NFL, but he carries himself very maturely. There were zero indications of character concerns with Marlon, and that goes a long way with an organization like the Baltimore Ravens who pride themselves on strong character.
Humphrey is a physical press corner who loves to jam receivers at the line. His aggressive play fits the Ravens defense perfectly. He is very good in run support as well and is not afraid to go in and lay a big hit. He is very similar to Jimmy Smith when he was drafted by the Ravens in 2011.
The biggest knock against Humphrey was his ability to play the deep ball. With veterans like Jimmy Smith, Eric Weddle and Tony Jefferson to learn from though, he should fix this problem in no time. Playing so aggressive at the line of scrimmage means he will have plays where he gets beat, just like Jimmy Smith did early on, but he will learn and get better every day.
Humphrey impresses in first real debut against the Saints.
Marlon Humphrey had reportedly dealt with a hamstring injury which limited his play to just a few snaps in the first three preseason games. In the fourth and final game against the New Orleans Saints, however, we finally got to see extended action from him.
He did not disappoint. Early in the game, Humphrey came down to put a nice hit on the Saints running back, which caused a fumble and Ravens recovery to set the offense up with good field position. This is the type of play you love to see from a corner who’s best trait is his aggressiveness. He hits like a strong safety or linebacker. I don’t know about you but I love to see cornerbacks get physical and assert their dominance.
The rest of the game was solid for Marlon. He was targeted a few times and allowed a couple of catches, but overall I thought he played very well. The worst thing I saw from him was a couple of penalties, but that comes with being a physical corner. He will learn how to clean the penalties up.
On one play, in particular, it seemed that Marlon had been beaten for a deep ball. He showed good recovery though and was able to break the pass up. This type of adjustment mid play is nice to see.
Marlon Humphrey could be the Ravens next shut down CB.
Can you imagine how great it would be if Marlon can become at least as good as Jimmy Smith soon? Having the two of them shutting down the outside receivers is something fun to imagine. I believe he has the potential to be even better than Jimmy though.
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As good of a corner as Jimmy Smith has been for the Ravens, the fact is that he has remained injury prone and cannot be relied upon to play all 16 games of a season. If Humphrey can play as well as Jimmy has, if not even better, and stay healthy to top it off then he could be the next great cornerback for the Ravens. I for one am very excited to see how Marlon grows and develops over the next couple of years.