After the Baltimore Ravens' second preseason game, there has been plenty of moving and shaking going on up and down the roster. This is a chance for plenty of borderline roster players or fringe starters to make a name for themselves. Who are the players that did just that?
10. Tylan Wallace is locking down a 53-man roster with the Baltimore Ravens
Tylan Wallace entered training camp right on the edge of the roster. He is technically still there, but his seat got a lot safer after the Ravens' second preseason. He is pretty clearly in the mix for the sixth wide receiver on the roster.
Odell Beckham, Zay Flowers, and Rashod Bateman are starters, while Devin Duvernay and Nelson Agholor have roles. Who will be the sixth person? The main competition is James Proche, Laquon Treadwell, and UDFA rookie Dontay Demus. Demus has looked like a UDFA rookie and is a practice squad candidate.
Proche dropped a contested pass, something that happens far too often for him. Treadwell missed the game with an injury, a crucial loss at a crucial time for his roster standing. Treadwell went play-for-play with Wallace in the first preseason game, so neither separated themselves.
Wallace caught another touchdown and got special teams work in the loss. He took a big step ahead of Treadwell that may take more than just a week to recover from.
9. Justice Hill has his stock soaring for the Baltimore Ravens
There has been no debate about who the best running back on the Baltimore Ravens roster was this preseason. Justice Hill entered training camp as the forgotten man. JK Dobbins is the star, and we all know Gus Edwards.
Then, Melvin Gordon is a big-name signing, and Keaton Mitchell is getting all of the talk because he is the fast, fun UDFA. So, Hill has slipped through the cracks. However, with Dobbins sitting out on the PUP, a lot of the work went to Justice Hill.
Unfortunately, the team sat both Dobbins and Edwards, confirming that they are ahead of Hill as a one-two punch. However, Mitchell never threatened Hill, and Hill is clearly ahead of Gordon as well. He will make the roster as the third running back and will get special teams work as he always does.
Now, the question is whether he can get a role on offense or if this was just a fun preseason story will J.K. Dobbins was sitting.
8. Did John Simpson win the Baltimore Ravens starting left guard job?
The Baltimore Ravens starting left guard job has taken many twists and turns, but it does feel like we are starting to hit our resolution, and any day now, we will see that John Simpson won the job. He has been locked into the majority of the starting snaps for the past two weeks after Sala Aumave-Laulu took the first-team repetitions early on in training camp.
Once Simpson took over, there was a thought that the two would rotate, but for the most part, it was Simpson. Simpson started for Baltimore in the past two preseason games. Frankly, against better competition, Simpson has been the better player. Even when Aumavae-Laulu comes in later on in the games, he struggles in ways that Simpson simply does not.
So, there is still one week left to sort things out, but it is hard to see this going any other way. Simpson went from behind Ben Cleveland to behind Sala Aumavae-Laulu and then ahead of both. That makes him one of the easy winners of the weekend.
7. Charlie Kolar progressed in a major way for the Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens sat both Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely down for this game. That meant that it was time for the team to get a big dose of Charlie Kolar. Kolar dropped a pass early into the game but finished strong with two catches for 61 yards. One catch went for 33 yards while the other went for 28 yards.
Kolar did exactly what he did at Iowa State, which is split the seams. Josh Johnson hit him in the right spot, and he made big plays over the middle of the field. This could be a huge addition to the Baltimore Ravens, and this is why the team drafted him before Isaiah Likely.
Kolar did not have his rookie season due to the injury, but now he is healthy and showing that when he gets going, he could be as talented or even a bigger target down the field compared to Likely. It will be interesting to see his usage moving forward. First, how much work does he get in preseason game number three? The Ravens will probably want to work him in a ton. If that goes well, does it lead to the Ravens getting him on the field more in the regular season?
6. Did Josh Johnson win the Baltimore Ravens backup job?
The Baltimore Ravens coaches have made it pretty clear that Josh Johnson is in a training camp battle with Tyler Huntley. It also seems to be that Johnson is ahead of him through two weeks of the preseason. Johnson started over Huntley in the first game, and Huntley played into the second half.
Johnson started again in week two, but part of that is Huntley being injured. Still, the combination of Johnson being ahead in training camp and Huntley not being able to defend his ground makes you think that they are closer to making that move.
Josh Johnson was brought in by Todd Monken, while Greg Roman brought in Tyler Huntley. It can be that simple. The Ravens are changing their offense, and they want a quarterback with a different skill set and someone who knows the verbiage and the calls. That is Johnson.
Early in training camp, there was a thought that he would be behind Anthony Brown if things went south. One week until the cutdowns, and Johnson may be ahead of Huntley. That is a rise.
5. Zay Flowers is everything Baltimore Ravens fans want
Zay Flowers was the best player on the field on Monday night. That is not saying a ton from the Baltimore Ravens' perspective because the only other technical starter was at left guard in this game. However, Washington played their starters for the most part, and Flowers ate them up.
He beat rookie first-round pick Emmanuel Forbes, and Forbes was drafted before Flowers. This has capped off a winning training camp for the rookie, who should hit the ground running and carve out a role in week one.
Flowers has shown that he can be a return option if needed. He has worked down the field and has caught passes short and ran long. More than that, he has seen the most work with the starters. Odell Beckham is still being eased in and getting his veteran off days, and Rashod Bateman is just coming back to full health now. So, Flowers has been dominating the work. There is a real chance he leads the Ravens pass catchers this year, which would be impressive for a rookie.
4. Did Ar'Darius Washington win the Baltimore Ravens slot job?
At first, Ar'Darius Washington was winning the starting slot job by default, but over the past two weeks, it feels like he really clamped down and won the thing. It helps that Pepe Williams appears to have no return in sight, while Arthur Maulet may still be a day or two away.
Still, the multiple weeks that were missed by both slot options have led to Washington leading the way. No one was pushing him, but the door opened and he jumped right through it. Washington played nearly every snap in preseason week one.
He got a bit of a break in week two, but some injuries in the secondary called for him to get back on the field in the fourth quarter. He did it all in this game. He defened the run and blitzed off the edge. Washington also had a couple of breakups in coverage, and a few big open-field tackles to keep plays short of the first down sticks.
This is everything that a slot cornerback needs to do. Washington went from a UDFA who could not find a role to not only in the mix to make the roster but also in the mix to start. This has been a great summer for Ar'Darius Washington with the Baltimore Ravens.
3. Daryl Worley is a roster lock for the Baltimore Ravens
It was assumed that Daryl Worley was a lock for the Baltimore Ravens roster after his performance in the Ravens' first preseason game, but we did not know for sure. While we still have to wait another week to find out, it is becoming clear that Worley will be on the 53-man roster.
Worley set himself apart from fringe players in week one. He played every defensive snap and got work on special teams. He made multiple plays throughout the game, and late in the game he was the clear best player on the field.
In preseason week two, he started across from Geno Stone. The dup started together and left together. They are safety three and four in the mix. Whether the Baltimore Ravens keep five safeties, or whatever the roster mechanics may be, will not impact Worley. He is a backup who may even get on the field for some defensive snaps. He is a lock for the 53-man roster.
2. Jeremiah Moon started over Tavius Robinson for the Baltimore Ravens
Jeremiah Moon has been up and down in the summer as he fihgts for a roster spot. Moon is a second-year UDFA from Florida who spent year one on the practice squad. Now, he is fighting to make the roster. He is almost a lock to circle back to the practice squad if it coms to that, but Moon has his stock rising because he is close to making the team.
Moon has been better than rookie Tavius Robinson in both preseason games. On Monday night, he started over Robinson, showing that this is not just a small trend, and this has probably happened in practice as well.
Moon did not completely seperate himself in this game, but Robinson has shown next to nothing. It has made it a debate over which player they keep. Tyus Bowser will likely start the season on the PUP, which may open a roster spot for both. However, if it does come to the two, Moon is more capable of playing SAM, which may be why he started over Robinson in the first preseason game. If that is the case and they both make it, Moon will be active, and Robinson may not be. This is worth following this week.
1. Kevon Seymour's stock with the Baltimore Ravens remains high
It is hard not to list Kevon Seymour as a winner after what he has done this preseason. Yes, his rise has been by default like some others, but like these other players, he also earned it when presented with the chance.
Seymour started both games at cornerback. This is at least notable because he is clearly ahead of rookie cornerback Kyu Blu Kelly. Nothing Kelly did in this game made you think he deserves a spot over Seymour, and the opposite actually occured because Seymour played well, and Kelly struggled.
This is another interesting case where the Ravens have a debate over sticking with the best player on the field, or sticking with the investment. They drafted Kelly this year for his upside and potential. Seymour is a veteran journeyman who offers little of that. But, he won the job over Kelly. That is at least worth recognizing as he made the decision much tougher on the Baltimore Ravens front office, and that is all you can ask for.