The Baltimore Ravens pass rush will be much better in 2020 thanks to the additions of Calais Campbell and Derek Wolfe, but how will Jaylon Ferguson fit in?
When the Baltimore Ravens drafted Jaylon Ferguson in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft, there was immediately some hype building around him to become an immediate contributor in the pass rush. Ferguson had passed Ravens legend Terrell Suggs for the most career sacks in college football history during his four years at Louisiana Tech with a monstrous 45.5 sacks. It seemed poetic that he wound up being drafted by Baltimore the same offseason Suggs departed in Free Agency.
We built up high expectations for the man dubbed the “Sack Daddy”; expectations that were so high it was entirely unfair to expect him to live up to them. Ferguson gave the Ravens 31 tackles and 2.5 sacks in 14 games played (nine starts). All things considered, those are pretty solid numbers for a third-round pick who was thrown into the fire due to injuries and inadequate play at the position.
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Now headed into 2020, Jaylon Ferguson will once again see competition for reps across from Matt Judon. Between veteran Pernell McPhee returning from injury and former second-round pick Tyus Bowser entering a contract year, Ferguson will have to stand out in a big way if he wants to see consistent time on the field.
McPhee will be Ferguson’s biggest obstacle for playing time. The 10-year vet notched three sacks in seven games before missing the remainder of the season with a triceps injury. McPhee has the inside track to be the day one starter due to his experience and above-average play.
Bowser is a bit of a wildcard here, as he finished second on the Ravens in 2019 with five sacks but didn’t start a single game. Baltimore has seen plenty of their players breakout during their contract seasons and Bowser could very well follow suit.
With all this in mind, it seems unfair to have heavy expectations set for Jaylon Ferguson in 2020. There’s simply too much competition to expect him to put up video game numbers like he did at Louisiana Tech.
With that being said, I could absolutely see a breakout for Jaylon Ferguson.
For starters, the Ravens brass clearly has a lot of faith in Ferguson. Starting nine games in 2019 after being a top-100 draft choice shows the team entrusts their defense to him. It also means he could give McPhee a run for his money to be the opening-day starter across from Judon. If he does, there will be plenty of opportunities to impress.
Some guys are just good at football, and that mantra fits Jaylon Ferguson to a “t”.
Jaylon Ferguson could find a way to step up big-time in 2020 and emerge as the bookend opposite Matt Judon. The sky seems to be the limit here, but we shouldn’t automatically expect him to produce Pro Bowl-level numbers. Instead, we should set our expectations low for now and have the chance to blow us away.
Jaylon Ferguson 2020 projected stats: 25 tackles, 5.5 sacks, two forced fumbles