Ebony Bird
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Ravens Training Camp profiles: Cornerback, Brandon Carr

By Chris Schisler

PITTSBURGH, PA - DECEMBER 10: Antonio Brown #84 of the Pittsburgh Steelers makes a catch in front of Brandon Carr #24 of the Baltimore Ravens in the fourth quarter during the game at Heinz Field on December 10, 2017 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA - DECEMBER 10: Antonio Brown #84 of the Pittsburgh Steelers makes a catch in front of Brandon Carr #24 of the Baltimore Ravens in the fourth quarter during the game at Heinz Field on December 10, 2017 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /
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Brandon Carr is still around, how much will the veteran cornerback give the Baltimore Ravens?

Last season Brandon Carr had his ups and his downs. Carr started the season off with an interception in a 20-0 shutout over the Bengals. Right away, the Ravens looked wise for bringing in a veteran cornerback to start for their defense. Carr was much more of a force in the first half of the season, this is when he had three of his four interceptions. There were some off moments even before the halfway moment. Against the Oakland Raiders, Carr gave up a touchdown when he was responsible for the deep third, he got caught looking at the quarterback and Michael Crabtree got behind him for the score.

Carr’s worst moment of the season was against the Pittsburgh Steelers late in the season. Antonio Brown made Brandon Carr look completely hopeless. Carr bounced back the next week with an interception against the Cleveland Browns. He has been known in the NFL this past decade, for his consistency. Carr never misses action due and he always gives an at least steady performance. In the 2017 season Carr was much more inconsistent than he was with the Dallas Cowboys and the Kansas City Chiefs.

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Where he fits:

While Carr isn’t an elite defensive back he isn’t a bad one unless he is covering Antonio Brown. The good news for Carr is that there are a lot of NFL cornerbacks you can say the same thing about. Carr shouldn’t be looked at as an insurance plan for Jimmy Smith. He isn’t going to go against an elite receiver and shut him down. He needs to be part of the rotation and he should probably be covering the slot more than anything.

Carr is still a great component of the Ravens secondary. He brings a lot of experience, and from a fundamentals standpoint he is one of the best defensive backs the Ravens have. When you look at the Ravens cornerback situation, Jimmy Smith and Marlon Humphrey look to be the biggest piece of the equation. These are the shutdown cornerbacks in Baltimore. The Ravens also have a lot of depth at the nickel cornerback spot. Despite that depth, this is where Carr fits best.

The Bottom Line:

Carr can still lineup on the outside, but his skill set lines up more as a slot cornerback. Carr is kind of in the Lardarius Webb role, he’s an established leader but he isn’t the headliner any more. Moore will have stiff competition at the nickel cornerback position. Carr is the most known commodity. Tavon Young and Anthony Averett are both young players who have the perfect skill-set for the position.

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Carr is an opportunistic cornerback who will put himself in good position for some timely interceptions. He is part of the picture but he isn’t that picture’s focus. Carr is entering his 11th season in professional football. He has had a great career as a starting cornerback. Now is his time to shine as a role player, part of a rotation of talented defensive backs.

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