Ravens: Tyus Bowser named Baltimore’s best-kept secret

The Baltimore Ravens will be relying on quite a few players to step up and play significant roles in 2021, and one player who will be counted on more than in the past is outside linebacker Tyus Bowser.

Bowser is expected to pick up where the likes of Matt Judon, Yannick Ngakoue, and Jihad Ward left off as a key contributor in the team’s pass-rush rotation.

Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox recently released a list of every NFL team’s “best-kept secret” heading into the 2021 season and Bowser received the nod for the Ravens.

Coming off a strong 2020 campaign, Bowser re-signed with Baltimore in the offseason to the tune of a four-year, $22 million extension. Now, he’ll be asked to play a greater role than ever before.

The Ravens will be leaning on Tyus Bowser in 2021

A second-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, Bowser has steadily seen his role in Baltimore’s defense increase over the years. He recorded a career-high five sacks in 2019 becoming a full-fledged member of the front-seven rotation.

And in 2020, he received his largest share of playing time yet.

Bowser started two of 16 games and was on the field for over 50 percent of defensive snaps, as well as 34 percent of special teams snaps.

Now, with the likes of Judon, Ngakoue, and Ward all departing in the offseason, the Ravens will hope to see Bowser break out as more of a true pass-rush threat in 2021.

He’ll be joined by players such as veteran Pernell McPhee, former third-round pick Jaylon Ferguson, and rookies Odafe Oweh and Daelin Hayes who will all be competing for snaps in a competitive outside linebacker corps.

Bowser might be the most well-rounded player of them all and seems like a lock to receive plenty of playing time.

McPhee still has a little left in the tank, but he’s clearly nothing more than a rotational player at this stage of his career. Ferguson has been a disappointment in Baltimore and was a healthy scratch numerous times late last year.

And as for Oweh and Hayes, both will be tasked with learning a pretty complex system under defensive coordinator Wink Martindale before they can contribute on defense.

Bowser represents the best of both worlds. He’s experienced enough in the system (having been in Baltimore for four years now) to produce early, but young enough (at just 26-years-old) that his best days might still be ahead of him.

The Ravens remain very high on Tyus Bowser, and while he may not be a household name, he’s certainly one of the more unheralded names in Baltimore’s defense.