Ravens could trade up for superstar safety prospect Kyle Hamilton
By Kristen Wong
With the current No. 14 pick, would the Baltimore Ravens entertain a trade to select higher in the draft and potentially take Notre Dame’s Kyle Hamilton?
The Ravens will be looking to reinforce nearly every position group this offseason with more emphasis on the offensive and defensive lines.
They’ve been linked to prospects such as Iowa’s Tyler Linderbaum and Cincinnati’s Ahmad Gardner, but if it’s a surefire starter they’re after, Hamilton presents an enticing pick.
Hamilton is widely considered a top-10 pick and has been projected to go as early as second overall in some mock drafts.
The uber-productive safety has drawn comparisons to Denver Broncos’ Justin Simmons for his coverage skills and high football IQ, and PFF’s Conor McQuiston recently wrote about why Hamilton would be a fantastic fit for Baltimore.
Per McQuiston’s article, Hamilton has “extreme versatility,” spending 20 percent of his snaps in the box, 27 percent of snaps as a deep safety, and 51 percent of snaps in the slot in his last season at Notre Dame.
McQuiston elaborates:
"“He is particularly interesting with the Ravens because he would be playing with one of the more creative defensive minds in football — Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald, who was more multiple with his single-high and two-high safety looks at Michigan. Macdonald would deploy Hamilton in a variety of roles and solve problems wherever they arise.”"
The Ravens could shoot for the stars and trade up to select Kyle Hamilton
At 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds, Hamilton possesses the physical attributes to dominate in the defensive backfield from day one.
His run-stuff rate ranks 39th among all 348 defensive backs that have been drafted since 2015, and last season, the Notre Dame safety recorded 35 tackles and three interceptions.
Hamilton stands as one of the best safety prospects the league has seen in recent history, and if the Ravens can trade up to nab him, they would be getting a home-run defender.
The Draft Network had incredibly high praise for Hamilton, calling him “the most physically talented player in the class and…on the short-list for my best prospects since 2014.”
Safety doesn’t register as Baltimore’s most pressing need in 2022, but with a generational unicorn-caliber talent like Hamilton, trading up could pay dividends in the long run to strengthen the Ravens’ secondary.
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Kyle Hamilton has the potential to be the highest-drafted safety in decades, and whichever team ends up picking him will be very lucky indeed.