Baltimore Ravens 2020 season outlook: Marlon Humphrey
It started with a solid rookie year. Then came a follow-up second year and then a breakout third year. In year four, Marlon Humphrey cements elite status.
Marlon Humphrey has developed into one of the best defensive backs in the NFL in a short time. Humphrey proved to be worthy of a round one selection as a rookie before blossoming into a stud in his second season. Then in year three, he put the league on notice.
Humphrey pumped out a career-best six turnovers (three interceptions, three fumble recoveries), forced two more fumbles, and scored two touchdowns. For his efforts, he was awarded his first Pro Bowl selection and was named a First-Team All-Pro.
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The bar has been set extremely high entering year four now, but I believe we are in for Marlon Humphrey’s best season yet.
For starters, Humphrey will line up across from Marcus Peters, who was also a Pro Bowler and First-Team All-Pro in 2019. The two have remarkable chemistry with one another and are arguably the league’s best cornerback duo in the business. The two will lock down their own sides of the field and force quarterbacks to make a tough decision as to who to throw at.
Many Ravens fans will get flashbacks to the days of Chris McAlister and Duane Starks. McAlister was the lockdown guy who you didn’t throw at, while Starks was the turnover machine that made you pay for challenging him. Marlon Humphrey is the Chris McAlister to Marcus Peters’s Duane Starks.
While Peters will be forcing turnovers aplenty, I suspect Humphrey will remain sticky in coverage and not give up an inch to opposing wide receivers. This doesn’t mean that Humphrey won’t notch some turnovers, however. Humphrey is coming off that aforementioned six turnover season and showed off some skills when it comes to punching the ball out of opposing player’s hands.
Marlon Humphrey also has tons of versatility to play both outside and in the slot. It seems more than reasonable to expect he’ll follow opposing team’s best receiver no matter where he dares to lineup. This kind of performance and confidence will have everyone’s attention in 2020.
All in all, Marlon Humphrey seems primed to have his best year yet in 2020. He’s proven to get better with each passing year. He’s surrounded by tons of talent in the secondary, too, so teams can’t just decide to stay away from throwing at Humphrey. Try all you want, but testing Humphrey will prove to be a fatal mistake this year.
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We all know how good Marlon Humphrey is and the rest of the league acknowledged him in 2019. However, 2020 is the year that Humphrey begins the argument that he’s the best in the entire league and not just one of the top guys. No one is gonna want to throw at this guy and when they do he’s going to make them pay big time.
Marlon Humphrey 2020 projected stats: 45 tackles, three forced fumbles, three interceptions, 15 pass deflections, one touchdown