The Baltimore Ravens will start the season on the road as they take on the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday Night Football.
With this being their first primetime game of the season, everyone will be tuning in to see how the Ravens respond to the rash of injuries they’ve suffered this offseason.
Losing one of their All-Pro corners in Marcus Peters and their top-three running backs to season-ending injuries in consecutive weeks is a tough pill to swallow.
Baltimore has one of the deepest teams in the league. They are confident that they will overcome these injuries. However, that depth will be tested on Monday night.
It will be interesting to see how the rookies fare in their NFL debuts and how quickly the new running backs can learn the offensive scheme.
Here are a few key players to pay close attention to during the game for the Ravens.
3. Anthony Averett, CB, Ravens
Before offseason practices, Anthony Averett was buried deep in the depth chart. He is a very good player, however, the Ravens have one of the best and deepest secondary’s in the league.
On any other team in the league, he would most likely be the starter. According to Wink Martindale, Averett has All-Pro potential. Now because of injuries, Averett will be one of the key players on this defense.
As first reported by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the team lost Marcus Peters after he tore his ACL in practice. That is a devastating blow to their defense. A ballhawk like Peters is very hard to replace, but Averett is up to the challenge.
The Ravens are confident that Averett can step up after losing Peters. When Tavon Young went down last year, Averett performed well in his absence. He received a 62.0 grade from Pro Football Focus for his play in 2020.
When allowed to play starting snaps, he has not disappointed. In Friday’s media presser, fellow defensive back Chuck Clark said Averett has quietly shined against the team’s top receivers.
Once again the Ravens will rely on him to shine this season starting against the Raiders on Monday night. With Peters gone, look for Averett to be matched up against the Raiders’ speedy young receiver Henry Ruggs.
Averett is also coming up on a contract year. Like many past Ravens such as Matt Judon and Za’Darius Smith, this is his chance to showcase to Baltimore and the rest of the league what he can do.
If he balls out this season he will be due for a huge payday. And it starts with a great performance against the Raiders on Monday Night Football.