Baltimore Ravens 2020 season outlook: Earl Thomas

Earl Thomas may not have put up big numbers in his inaugural season with the Baltimore Ravens, but he was still terrific. His 2020 could be even better.

The Baltimore Ravens made some big moves during the 2019 offseason and one of the league’s biggest as a whole was when the team added veteran safety Earl Thomas. Thomas, who turned 31-years old in May, remains one of the NFL’s best safeties and took Baltimore’s secondary over the top in his first year with the team. Even coming off an injury, Thomas showed in 2019 he’s still an alpha dog on the backend.

In his first season with the Ravens, Earl Thomas picked off two passes and grabbed his first two career sacks in 15 games. Thomas was once again an elite centerfielder that quarterbacks avoided as much as possible. No one got behind Thomas in coverage and that kind of impact can’t be defined on a stat sheet.

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Despite his great season, the stat sheet wasn’t what fans wanted it to be and thus he was deemed a “bust” by them. It doesn’t help that his most recent memory in Ravens Flock’s head is getting bullied around by Derrick Henry in the team’s playoff loss to the Tennessee Titans. It’s a rough memory to let go of and fans refuse to do such. It’s a shame, too, as he was exactly what the Ravens thought they were getting when they inked him to a four-year $55 million deal.

Headed into 2020 it is expected that Earl Thomas will remain the stud he is on the backend of the defense, but there’s also the expectation that he will force a few more turnovers. Thomas’s two interceptions came on errant throws by Ryan Fitzpatrick and Tom Brady and Thomas only notched four pass deflections. Interceptions shouldn’t be the be-all, end-all for whether or not a safety had a good season, but in order to fully live up to his contract, “ET” needs to get more turnovers in 2020.

If ever there were a year for a safety to get all sorts of turnovers, it would be on the 2020 edition of the Baltimore Ravens. Earl Thomas is likely licking his chops at the thought of playing on this defense, as the pass rush has been revitalized to make quarterbacks uncomfortable and throw ill-advised passes against this ferocious secondary.

With how loaded this secondary is, don’t be surprised if Earl Thomas comes back to life as a turnover machine. Thomas’s best years of his career came during the era of the Seattle Seahawks “Legion of Boom” and this Baltimore Ravens secondary is the closest he will have been to that level of talent. Therefore, it seems reasonable that he’ll be great and maybe get back to picking off more passes. Thomas’s career-high in interceptions is five (2010, 2013, 2015); a number that seems incredibly attainable for him this year.

More so than just interceptions, there’s reason to believe that “ET” will be forcing all sorts of havoc throughout the defense. Thomas was used as a blitzer frequently in 2019 and there’s little reason to assume that’ll stop all of a sudden. Besides, he was rather effective when he was called upon. Look for Thomas to make plays at every level of the defense.

Earl Thomas will once again be one of the league’s top safeties, even if his numbers aren’t what the fans want them to be. Just remember this: a good season for Earl Thomas doesn’t mean he has to lead the league in interceptions. Instead, it’ll be all about how much quarterbacks will try to not throw his direction. If they do, he’ll make them pay.

Earl Thomas 2020 projected stats: 55 tackles, two sacks, three interceptions, nine pass deflections, two forced fumbles, one touchdown