Coming out of the 2025 NFL Draft, many believed the Baltimore Ravens had selected two of the biggest steals with their first two selections. The first was Georgia safety Malaki Starks, who is already making headlines this offseason and impressing coaches every time he steps on the field. The other was Marshall product Mike Green, a pass rusher who led the college ranks in sacks in 2024. By the sounds of it, he is starting to creep up on radars, too.
Most of the conversation surrounding Green over the past few months was his contract situation. Like the majority of second round picks, the 22-year-old went unsigned for most of the offseason. However, just as rookies were reporting for Baltimore’s training camp, Green finally inked his rookie deal, and now we can finally focus on his play.
Green is already blowing coaches away. He participated in team activities before training camp, but in the first week of camp, he flashed his understanding of the game. Everyone knows he can pressure the quarterback, but with pads off, his intelligence was on full display.
Defensive coordinator Zach Orr was hyping up the second-round rookie during his presser on Saturday. He is quickly becoming a coach’s favorite and for good reason.
“Mike [Green] just comes in and works. Smart player, works hard, doesn’t really say much until we’re out here on the field and he has to communicate, which he does a great job of,” Orr said. “Right now we’re in shorts and t-shirts with a helmet on, so it’s been assignment sound, and he’s been great with that. It’s gonna crank up next week, and I’m excited for him. We know what type of player we have.”
Mike Green is already checking all the mental boxes
It can be difficult for defensive linemen to flash in training camp when the pads are off. The physical portion of practices is kept to a minimum. For a player like Green, whose best abilities are wrecking the backfield and sacking the quarterback, he must affect plays in other ways. By Orr’s response about Green’s impact in his first NFL camp, he is doing just that.
One of the more significant learning curves at the professional level can be adjusting to schemes. Coordinators throw various schemes and concepts at the opposing side, making it a mental battle every snap to try to outsmart and outperform the other. Green is filling in his duties as a pass rusher as best he can, and if he can continue that when the pads are on, Baltimore’s pass rush unit should take prominent strides in 2025.
The Ravens racked up 54 sacks last year, which was good for second in the league. However, they came in bunches. The mainstays at outside linebacker–Kyle Van Noy and Odafe Oweh–had streaks where they were bringing down the quarterback one to two times a week, but they also had dry spells.
The inconsistencies hurt the team in the long run, as their inability to sack Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen was one of the leading factors in their playoff loss. Green should change that.