Baltimore Ravens 2020 season outlook: Tavon Young

A forgotten man in a loaded Baltimore Ravens secondary, Tavon Young will be looking to rebound from a season lost to injury in 2020.

The Baltimore Ravens are the proud owners of perhaps the best secondary in all of football. Three Pro Bowlers, Marlon Humphrey, Marcus Peters, and Earl Thomas, are back for 2020. Joining them are studs Jimmy Smith and Chuck Clark, as well as a now healthy Tavon Young. With these six guys set to play massive roles for the unit, opposing offenses will struggle to move the ball on them.

We’ve talked plenty about most of these guys, but lost in this shuffle is the aforementioned Tavon Young. Young, who is entering his fourth NFL season, missed the entirety of the 2019 season with a neck injury. It was seen as a massive loss after his terrific 2018 season, one which placed himself in an elite category as one of the league’s best slot corners.

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While fans have perhaps forgotten about Young thanks to the Ravens depth at corner headed into 2020, we haven’t forgotten about the 26-year old.

Tavon Young remains in the prime of his career and should be able to get right back to his dominant play. Young is absolutely feisty from his slot position with a knack for finding the football. In 2018, Young found himself four turnovers (one interception, three fumble recoveries) and scored two touchdowns. He was simply a ball magnet who was opportunistic when the ball found his hands.

Beyond his ball skills is a sticky coverage corner who plays much bigger than his 5’9″ 185-lbs. frame would indicate. Tavon Young is a bit of an alpha male at the position, and in a secondary full of outspoken, confident defenders he’ll fit right in.

While Tavon Young’s injury history is incredibly concerning, when he’s fully he’s as reliable as they come. Outside of two freak season-ending injuries (ACL tear in 2017, neck in 2019), he’s only missed one game in his two healthy seasons.

What will be interesting will be how big a role Young will have on this defense. Young is likely the team’s fourth cornerback on the depth chart behind Humphrey, Peters, and Smith. Humphrey also showed off his ability to be a terrific slot corner when needed, so Young doesn’t necessarily have a guaranteed starting role headed into the year.

I still think Young will still see plenty of time on the field throughout the secondary thanks to his versatility and we could in turn see his most well-rounded season yet. Baltimore can get creative with his usage and perhaps line him up as a nickel safety and play centerfielder at times. Young should be completely unleashed as a playmaker if he’s 100%.

Tavon Young has all the potential in the world to reclaim his crown as one of the best slot cornerbacks in all of football. Young fought for that crown the last time we saw him in 2018 and if fully healthy he could reclaim that title. It’s a loaded secondary, so he may not see as much playing time as year’s past, but I suspect he’ll still be a playmaker for the defense.

Tavon Young 2020 projected stats: 35 tackles, one sack, three fumble recoveries, two interceptions, five pass deflections, one touchdown