Baltimore Ravens Flock votes for 2019 team awards
Most underrated defensive player:
The candidates: Chuck Clark, Jimmy Smith, Josh Bynes
The winner: Chuck Clark
The Baltimore Ravens defense got beat up early on in the 2019 season. The biggest loss was safety Tony Jefferson to a torn ACL. Jefferson was one of the team’s most established leaders and his loss was bigger than just from a production standpoint. Jimmy Smith was also sidelined for a majority of the season after his own teammate fell into his knee. But while Smith was able to eventually return (and play at a high-level), Jefferson did not.
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Without their starting strong safety, Baltimore was in a bit of a bind. They could move Brandon Carr from cornerback to safety or move Anthony Levine into a full-time role as the team’s strong safety. But the Ravens situation went from a bad one to one with a silver lining, as third-year man Chuck Clark emerged as a potential replacement for Jefferson.
Clark was a straight-up stud in 2019 and got better with each passing week. Considering Clark was a roster bubble player headed into the year, it makes it that much more impressive that he balled out the way that he did. Clark wound up leading Baltimore in tackles (73) while also adding on a sack, two forced fumbles, and an interception. Not too shabby for a guy who wasn’t even a lock to make the final 53-man roster.
Josh Bynes also deserves some love, as he was a midseason acquisition who played well under Don Martindale’s scheme despite having to learn it on the fly. Even still, Chuck Clark deserves some major recognition for his efforts, and Ravens Flock agrees.