Patrick Onwuasor could be secret weapon for Ravens Defense
Outside of Baltimore who knows the name Patrick Onwuasor? He could be a secret weapon for the defense:
Patrick Onwuasor had 5.5 sacks last year. He had two of them against the Titans when the Ravens had 11 sacks on Marcus Mariota. Onwuasor also sacked Phillip Rivers twice in the Ravens’ big week 16 win over the Chargers. One of the major questions for the Ravens is where the pass rush is going to come from. Onwuasor could be a secret weapon as a blitzing inside linebacker.
Don Martindale is a defensive coordinator who loves his defense to crowd the line of scrimmage and make the other team play a guessing game. Good blitzing linebackers are key for this because the defense has to be able to deliver on the threat of backfield chaos. Onwuasor isn’t going to be a double digit sack guy but he is going to be a player who the other team has to account for in pass protection.
For Onwuasor, the number of sacks aren’t the biggest measure of his success. That being said, it’s a great compliment to his abilities. Onwuasor could be one of the best blitzing linebackers in the NFL. Martindale shouldn’t be shy about sending him after the quarterback in creative ways.
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Last season, Kenny Young had 2.5 sacks while C.J. Mosley had .5 sacks. That’s 8.5 sacks from inside linebackers in 2018. The number one thing that stands out about Onwuasor and Young is their athletic ability. Young ran a 4.6 yard 40 yard dash at the NFL combine and he may be one of the quickest linebackers in the league. Onwuasor has similar speed and he has instincts that make him even quicker.
Mosley has had 8.5 sacks in his career; however he has had only 1.5 sacks in the past three seasons. With Mosley out of the picture, the Ravens may ask their inside linebackers to do more as pass rushers. They clearly have the ability. If the Ravens can get five or six sacks each from their main inside linebackers, the defense really will have a secret weapon.
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The Ravens inside linebackers won’t lead the team in sacks, yet they could play a pivotal role in getting to the quarterback. Onwuasor’s stat line of 59 tackles, 5.5 sacks with an interception and two forced fumbles would be solid numbers for an outside linebacker. If Jaylon Ferguson had numbers like this in his rookie year, nobody would complain. Onwuasor plays inside linebacker though, so those sack numbers are more than solid. This is an extra element in the defense that could be magnified with Mosley’s departure.