The Baltimore Ravens might have a breakout candidate in Keyon Martin. The 2025 undrafted cornerback continued where he left off last offseason with another extraordinary training camp and preseason.
He’s right on the verge of reaching another level.
Unfortunately, it won’t come easy for Martin. His talent is crystal clear—he can be a weapon out of dime packages and has continuously proven himself on special teams.
However, Baltimore’s corner room is deep. Most notably, rookie Chandler Rivers has been pushing for reps. It’s making the depth chart real tight at slot corner.
There may not be many reps on the table for Martin, at least early on. If he keeps moving the way he’s moving, though, head coach Jesse Minter will absolutely find a way to unleash him.
Baltimore Ravens CB Keyon Martin has a lot of work to do to have breakout campaign
Keyon Martin has an uphill climb to making a real impact on defense this year. Along with duking it out with Chandler Rivers, he’s behind Nate Wiggins, Marlon Humphrey, Chidobe Awuzie, and T.J. Tampa on the depth chart. There may not be ample opportunities to go around.
That battle with Rivers hasn’t been easy either. Rivers exploded in the preseason, locking down opposing wide receivers with a 90.1 coverage grade, per Pro Football Focus. Really, everywhere you look, players are demanding snaps.
There’s reason to believe that Martin will be the guy, though.
Editors for BaltimoreRavens.com, Ryan Mink and Quentin Corpuel, recently let Ravens players predict which teammates would break out in 2026. Martin got two votes. Those came from LaJohntay Wester and T.J. Tampa.
"This offseason, he showed a jump from Year 1 to Year 2. He was an undrafted free agent and he kept proving himself day in and day out,” Wester said.
"He showed it in camp, he's going to show it in the season. He's going to get it done,” Tampa said.
For the Martin truthers, those are two of the exact players you want to hear showering the second-year pro with praise.
Tampa obviously works with Martin every day in the cornerback room, and gets to hear another part of Martin’s mind in positional meetings. He seems extremely confident that Martin is going to hit another gear.
Then there’s Wester, who’s one of Martin’s main matchups in team practices. They’re two slot guys sharpening each other’s skills day by day, and just as Wester had himself a great preseason, Martin was right there with him.
Still, Martin will have to force Minter to use him. The Ravens are loaded at corner, and that doesn’t even include all the depth and versatility they have at safety. Plenty of faces could steal chances from Martin before he gets a real shot on defense.
So how can Martin reach that breakout level and crack the defensive rotation? Keep firing on all cylinders on special teams.
If he can keep proving himself as not just a core member but a premier piece of that special teams unit, the coaching staff will have more and more faith in him. And after taking 141 snaps on defense in 2025, he can use that experience as leverage to take those strides toward a breakout.
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