Baltimore Ravens: Which cornerback will finish with more interceptions?
Brandon Carr (5th Round, Pick 140):
Brandon Carr may be the most underrated player on this team for multiple reasons. For starters, Carr has played well beyond expectations since being acquired from the Dallas Cowboys in 2017 via free agency. In fact, Brandon Carr wasn’t even the desired option amongst the available cornerbacks that offseason for most Ravens fans. Everyone wanted the Ravens to sign Morris Clayborn, but Ozzie plucked the other corner from Dallas instead which turned out to be a genius move.
Another reason why Carr is so underrated is because of his insane durability. Since being drafted in 2008, Carr has started all 176 of his possible career games which has earned him the nickname “Iron Horse”. Availability is the best ability when it comes to the cornerback position, so this kind of durability is incredibly valuable.
In his 11-year career Carr has recorded a single season-high of four interceptions twice, the latest being with the Baltimore Ravens in 2017. Last season Carr recorded two interceptions but left a few on the turf, so I expect him to bring that number up a bit.
Prediction: 3
Tavon Young (4th Round, Pick 104):
Like Brandon Carr, Tavon Young is also vastly underrated even as one of the leagues best slot corners.
Young was drafted in 2016 out of Temple and wasted no time proving his worth. In his rookie season, Young was pushed into a starting role due to injuries and provided a spark to a depleted secondary. There was questions about Young’s ability to play corner at this level due to his smaller stature, but he proved to be valuable with his feisty playing style.
Young’s development was stunted in 2017 when he tore his ACL during training camp and was forced to sit out the entire season in order to rehab. Coming back for the 2018 season, Young played at a very high level and ultimately locked down the slot position at cornerback.
The front office recognized his hard work and rewarded him with a nice three-year $25.8 million dollar contract with $13 million guaranteed. I’m really excited to see Young play with this secondary this season and show the league why he’s the best slot corner.
Prediction: 3
Prediction:
As you can see with my numbered predictions above, I believe Marlon Humphrey will finish the season with the most interceptions at five with my reason being, “the Earl Thomas effect.”
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The Ravens acquiring Thomas was huge for a secondary that lost their leader in Eric Weddle. I believe with Thomas behind him, Humphrey will be able to play more relaxed knowing he has a future Hall-of-Famer as his backup. Along with being more relaxed, Humphrey will also have another year of experience under his belt which will allow him to play more instinctive instead of trying to process the play and think about where he has to be. This relaxed and instinctual play will lead to more interceptions for Marlon Humphrey in the 2019 NFL season.