After a disappointing year in 2025, the Baltimore Ravens’ guide to bouncing back is clear: get back to the Ravens way on defense. Their unit last season was an embarrassment to the franchise. They have to put that all behind them.
It seems they’ve started that transition on the right foot. They hired Jesse Minter to replace John Harbaugh, one of the best defensive minds in the game. There’s no guarantee he becomes a home run hire, but all signs are pointing toward him constructing a successful turnaround. He’s gotten endless praise.
While everyone will be looking at the defense’s production as a whole next year, there’s a lot of intrigue in what Minter could do with the rising stars on that side of the football. There’s a ton of young talent on Baltimore's defense. Two of those rising stars have already caught Minter’s eye.
“I think Mike Green is somebody I’m really excited about that’ll be able to take a big step,” Minter said. “I think Malaki Starks is gonna become a household type of name in the secondary.”
Baltimore Ravens could have two stars emerge under Jesse Minter in 2026
It should come as no shock that Green and Starks were the two names mentioned in Minter’s interview with ESPN’s Kevin Clark. They were the Ravens’ first two picks in the 2025 NFL Draft, and at the time, both were perceived as steals. Many scouts had Starks as a top-15 prospect before he was selected by Baltimore at pick 27, and the same can be said for Green, before off-the-field concerns caused a fall all the way down to pick 59.
Still, it’s good to know Minter is already seeing the talent both of those guys have to offer. He was an elite defensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Chargers from 2024 to 2025, and if he sees that you have what it takes to be a star on defense, he’s going to get everything out of you. Hopefully, he can help Green and Starks take strides after some quieter rookie campaigns.
Green wasn’t overly productive. He struggled to get going early in the year and consistently had trouble against the run. The Marshall product found a bit of a rhythm in the second half, though, finishing with 3.5 sacks and 34 pressures. Again, there wasn’t too much good, but he showed potential.
In all honesty, Starks didn’t show up on the highlight reels much in 2025 either. However, that tends to be a good thing for deep safeties whose role is to play centerfield. The 22-year-old did pretty well at that in his rookie season, hauling in two interceptions and maintaining control of his duties over the top in the secondary. There were some moments of lapse in coverage, but for the most part, it was a solid season.
Sure, the secondary as a whole gave up far too many big plays, and the pass rush did next to nothing, but each of the young contributors showed promise. If they can continue that rise into their sophomore seasons, Baltimore’s defense should look drastically better.
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