Chris Schisler: Jaylon Ferguson
The Baltimore Ravens need to rush the passer and their current cast of pass rushers is almost keeping me up at night. The Ravens need Jaylon Ferguson to outshine his draft position. They need him to be an impact player right away. They can only get so much from Pernell McPhee in his second stint with the team. Whatever you get from Shane Ray is anybodies guess. Then Ravens are banking on Tim Williams or maybe even Tyus Bowser finally fulfilling their potential. I don’t want to sound like the glass is half empty but it is and the water is lukewarm.
The Ravens have a need for Ferguson to shine early and often. The problem is that Ferguson is a first round talent with a third round polish. It may take some time for him to become a great pass rusher at the NFL level. Every year fans get excited about a different pass rusher. In 2017, people were lining up to say how good Williams was going to be. We’re still waiting on that. This year the player to get your hopes up for is Ferguson. He has to give us a reason to be excited. He has to flash some serious potential.
If Ferguson can contribute right away and even become a starter, the Ravens pass rushing situation looks tenable. With so much riding on his early success, Ferguson is the player to be glued in on this preseason. Baltimore absolutely needs this pick to work out and they need it to happen right away.