Ravens Midseason Rookie Grades: Tyler Linderbaum leads the way

There were high hopes for the Baltimore Ravens’ rookies coming into the 2022 season, as Baltimore was hoping that a draft that saw them make 10 selections in the first four rounds would pay dividends.

The play of some of these players could prove decisive for a team with legitimate Super Bowl aspirations, and so far this class has not disappointed as it appears general manager Eric DeCosta has nailed yet another draft.

With the Ravens 6-3 and coming out of the bye, it seemed like a good time to give out some first-half rookie grades.

It should be noted that these grades are based not just on how someone has played so far, but on where that play is taking their trajectory going forward.

Kyle Hamilton, S, Ravens: B+

It was a bumpy start for Kyle Hamilton, the prize of Baltimore’s class who shockingly fell to them at the 14th pick this past April.

He was having a hard time grasping defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald’s defense, had a couple of major mental lapses that led to big plays early in the year, and was also having a hard time covering tight ends in man coverage.

The snap distribution once Marcus Williams got hurt made it clear that Hamilton had not yet fully earned the coaching staff’s trust, but he has quietly started to round into shape over the past month.

He played a season-high 75% of snaps against the New Orleans Saints and is now being used in the majority of nickel packages.

Hamilton has turned into a reliable safety who always seems to be in the right place and knows what to do, and given the breathtaking physical ability that made him such a tantalizing prospect, that game-changing ability should be right around the corner.

While Hamilton certainly got off to a much slower start than the Ravens would have hoped, he has righted the ship, and the arrow is pointing up.