Baltimore Ravens: Don’t forget about Jaylon Ferguson in 2020
Jaylon Ferguson is one of the most interesting players going into the 2020 season for the Baltimore Ravens.
If you followed Ebony Bird going into the Baltimore Ravens season, you know that I was all aboard the Jaylon Ferguson hype train. I saw in Ferguson a young and explosive rookie with the physical traits that could get him off to a fast start. Looking back on the season, I placed too lofty of expectations on the third round pick out of Louisiana Tech.
The thing is, Ferguson still has a 6’5″ frame and an awesome bull rush. Nothing has changed and his rookie season has given him valuable experience. He may have only gotten 2.5 sacks but he played in 14 games and when you’re a young developing player, every snap on the field matters.
The reason that Ferguson is a good pick for a positive surprise in 2020, is that he didn’t set that high of a bar for himself. The Ravens Flock isn’t exactly expecting a huge year out of Ferguson. In 2019, Ferguson struggled to bully offensive tackles the way he did at the collegiate level and he struggled as a run defender.
He had 31 tackles and 2.5 sacks in his rookie year. If he can get that to 45-50 tackles for five to seven sacks it would be a huge stride. That’s a reachable goal. That would make a big difference next season, no matter what the Ravens add to the defensive unit.
It’s important to remember that when Ferguson came into the NFL, he was used to being the most dominant athlete on the field. At the next step up it wasn’t as easy. It was going to take a little time for Ferguson to dominate off the edge. He could go from a rookie with some promising flashes to a surprisingly dependable part of the Ravens’ pass rushing production.
Matt Judon only had 27 tackles and four sacks in his rookie season. In year two, Judon had 61 tackles and eight sacks. Ferguson could make that kind of a jump going into his second season. Judon’s trajectory coming out of Grand Valley State could be very similar to Ferguson’s transition coming out of Louisiana Tech. You’re looking at two smaller school players with a similar skill set.
The Ravens need to find more talent at outside linebacker whether Ferguson has a breakout second season or not. The point here is that he is still an up and coming player at a position where it takes two or three years before a player really starts to get it.
Ferguson is a player who the Ravens have to keep their eye on. They invested a third round pick in him. They may not be able to count on him to be a dominant force in his second season but they have to get solid production from him. That third round pick has to lead to some tangible results.
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Ferguson was one of the most exciting draft picks the Ravens had in 2019 and he had his ups and downs in his rookie season. He should be one of the players you keep your eye on this preseason. We need to see progress and there is good reason to believe we will.