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Baltimore Ravens report card: Grading Marlon Humphrey’s 2018

By Richard Bradshaw

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - DECEMBER 16: Marlon Humphrey #29 of the Baltimore Ravens celebrates after making a first half tackle against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at M&T Bank Stadium on December 16, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - DECEMBER 16: Marlon Humphrey #29 of the Baltimore Ravens celebrates after making a first half tackle against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at M&T Bank Stadium on December 16, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /
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Marlon Humphrey took a huge step forward for the Baltimore Ravens and has us wanting more. What grade did he earn himself for his 2018 performance?

The 2018 edition of the Baltimore Ravens defense had a slight skid midway through the season, but ended as one of the top-ranked units throughout the entire NFL. Thanks in large part to the play of many, Ravens second-year cornerback Marlon Humphrey was the star of the show that no one talked about.

In 14 games, Humphrey managed 15 pass break-ups to go with two interceptions and finished as one of Pro Football Focus’ top-ranked cornerbacks. Humphrey was a menace for opposing teams all season long and was by-far the biggest reason the Ravens finished fifth in the NFL in passing yards allowed per game in 2018. Simply put, Humphrey had an alpha-dog mentality all year long and proved his worth week-in and week-out.

So, how did he grade out in 2018? A lackluster stat-sheet may get casual fans bummed out, but Marlon Humphrey’s excellent play on tape would beg to differ. Therefore…

MARLON HUMPHREY. B+. Marlon Humphrey had a masterful season in 2018. Humphrey truly took a massive step forward following a promising rookie season and emerged as one of the NFL’s top cornerbacks. Unfortunately, the media hasn’t quite caught on to Humphrey’s talents, but it sure is hard to have eye-popping numbers when opposing quarterbacks refuse to throw at you.<br />Humphrey had any wide receiver lined-up in front of him locked down. He had their number. For 60-minutes, teams were hard-pressed to find any sort of success vs. Marlon Humphrey. While this isn’t to say he was flawless, he was certainly one of the better cornerbacks in 2018.<br />As badly as I want to give Marlon Humphrey an A, it’s hard to considering he had a couple bad games in the 2018 regular season. To add insult to injury, Humphrey got lit-up in the wildcard match-up vs. the Chargers and was one of the weakest performers during the loss. No one is perfect, but Humphrey let the defense down when they needed him most.<br />With that being said, one game does not define a player, nor his season. Because of this, Humphrey has earned himself a B+ and will get my vote for Ebony Bird’s Baltimore Ravens’ MVP for 2018. The future is unbelievably bright with Humphrey at the helm of the secondary, and it’ll only be a matter of time before the rest of the league catches on to how good he is. Shall we say elite? Why not? He’s nearly there after two-seasons in the NFL…. CB. Baltimore Ravens

Next. 2019 NFL Draft: Targets with Baltimore Ravens 22nd overall pick. dark

It was hard not to give Marlon Humphrey an A for his season, but being objective about it, there were certainly instances where he could’ve been better. Regardless, Humphrey is trending up and Ravens Flock should get excited about his potential.

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