Why the Baltimore Ravens secondary is easy to root for

Earl Thomas worked his way off the Baltimore Ravens roster by being a problematic teammate. The remaining secondary is incredibly easy to root for:

The Baltimore Ravens have such an easy secondary to root for. It starts with Chuck Clark. Clark was a sixth round pick out of Virginia Tech in 2017. Clark had limited chances to show off in his first two seasons with the Ravens. In 2019 Clark became a starter and led the Ravens’ defense in tackles. That’s a good story. Its a player who probably was never expected to be one of the leaders of the defense becoming just that.

Then you go to DeShon Elliott. Elliott was drafted in 2018 and he missed his entire rookie season due to an injury. Last year, he played in just six games before having another season ending injury. Elliott is now in line to earn the starting free safety spot. Like Clark, Elliott was a sixth round pick.

Elliott has always had a lot of buzz about him though. With the Texas Longhorns he was a play-making safety who had a knack for taking the ball away from the other team. The upside was pretty easy to see when he was drafted a couple years ago. Elliott working out would be the stuff movies are made of. Not only would he be labeled as a true diamond in the rough but his success would also be a comeback story. A scrappy young safety replacing a locker room cancer almost sounds like a Disney movie plot.

Then you look at the cornerback position. The Ravens have a chance to make Jimmy Smith a Raven for life. Smith is going into his 10th season with Baltimore. Largely due to his injury history, he has always been underappreciated by fans. The fact of the matter is that Smith has always been a big part of this team and the fact that he’s still going strong here is a good thing.

Marcus Peters had 19 interceptions in three seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs and he was traded away to the Los Angeles Rams for a late round draft pick. Then the Rams trade Peters away to make room for Jalen Ramsey. The fact that the Rams spent that much in a trade to get Ramsey, and gave Peters up for next to nothing (Kenny Young and a fifth round pick) is insane.

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Peters has been a great player his entire career, but the Ravens may finally be the team he sticks with for more than just a few years. Peters hasn’t been a problem child. He hasn’t acted up. He has an edge and he’s fit with the Ravens perfectly. This is just where he belongs.

Then take Marlon Humphrey. When the Ravens drafted Humphrey, a lot of people didn’t see it coming (I mocked Humphrey to the Ravens back then, but I stood mostly alone in that). The Ravens didn’t have cornerback as their biggest draft need, they just couldn’t pass Humphrey up.

Humphrey has become a top five cornerback and one of the most important pieces of the puzzle. Humphrey has a voice that carries a lot of weight in the locker room and he’s one of the most liked Ravens.

Last but not least you have Tavon Young. Young has been rock solid when he’s been on the field. In his rookie season he had 53 total tackles and two picks and he showed that he was a fourth round pick that was going to stick around. Then he got hurt and missed the 2017 season.

The 2018 season saw Young return to being a sneaky good player, one who could become one of the better nickel cornerbacks in the NFL. Young got a contract extension after that, the Ravens were sold. The 2019 season came and right before a preseason game against the Green Bay Packers, his season was over. Young coming back is a big reason to look forward to this season.

The Bottom Line:

The Ravens let go of Earl Thomas for conduct detrimental to the team. Thomas is an easy person to dislike at the moment as a series of negative events led to his departure. The secondary that he is no longer a part of is quite an inspirational one. This is a good mix of both talent and character. Should this group of defensive backs gel, the Ravens can still be expected to have one of the best secondaries in the NFL.

Team chemistry and character are important to the Ravens and every move they’ve made in the secondary is consistent with that belief. Thomas not working out was because he chose not to fit into the Ravens way of doing things. It was a reminder of what the Ravens are about, but it wasn’t an introductory lesson. They built a really cool thing with this secondary and that positive vibe can be found all over the roster.