The Baltimore Ravens are sitting at 7-2, and they are serious contenders to make a run in the playoffs. What makes this more exciting is that there are cases to be made for some players getting even better in the second half of the season. Which players on the Ravens have the best chance to see their best play from this point forward?
3. The Baltimore Ravens could get the best out of Kyle Hamilton late in the season
Kyle Hamilton is already breaking out in his second NFL season. However, there is a real case to be made that he will play his best football moving forward. That is because the Ravens are about to get even more versatile with him.
The Ravens have moved him from strong safety to the slot at times, depending on their needs and personnel. However, he is at his best when he is closer to the line of scrimmage, and that has often meant him playing in the slot. Hamilton recorded three sacks and was dominant against the Colts when he played primarily slot. On Sunday, he played a hybrid of both, and it was arguably his best game since week three. He just impacts the game from all angles when he is that close, and his quick twitch ability and length really show up.
Now, he is going to start shifting to the slot more often. The Ravens got Daryl Worley back from the IR, and he played 22 snaps in his return. This can increase. With Worley in, the Ravens use him and Geno Stone at safety, and that allows Hamilton to drop into the box as the slot. It takes Arthur Maulet off of the field and gives the Ravens their best 11. The best news is that Marcus Williams can eventually come back and replace Worley, making the unit even stronger. Look for Hamilton to finish in the slot more, and the Ravens will benefit.
2. Will the Baltimore Ravens play Keaton Mitchell more?
This one is pretty obvious after what he did to the Seattle Seahawks. It took just nine carries for Keaton Mitchell to establish himself in the NFL. He posted 138 yards and a touchdown in the Ravens win over Seattle. Now, the question is whether that was a fluke or whether he can lift their run game over the top.
Mitchell is a UDFA. A lot of that comes down to a lack of power and limited passing-game ability. Can he hold up against the bigger NFL hits, and how can the Ravens avoid him crashing to the inside? Mitchell was already placed on IR, and after he returned against the Lions, he missed the very next game with a small tweak.
On the flip side he brings explosion that this offense has not had since J.K. Dobbins got hurt. Justice Hill has his moments, but is not that back and the Ravens tried Kenyan Drake to no avail as well. The Ravens are at their best when Lamar Jackson is running wild, but also when they have a downhill force and a speed threat. Gus Edwards is the downhill force, can Mitchell be the speed threat that completes the backfield?
1. Is Odafe Oweh about to break out for the Baltimore Ravens?
Odafe Oweh looked like an absolute stud as a rookie. However, in year two he fell back down a little bit, and fans wondered where the production went. We wrote that Oweh actually was still getting pressures, they were not resulting in sacks at the same rate, though. If he could keep winning at the same rate the sacks could start to come in bunches.
So far the Baltimore Ravens have seen Oweh record two sacks in the three games since his return from injury. He also had a handful of good reps against Laremy Tunsil in week one before his week two injury. When you put it altogether he is having a good year.
Oweh has a 17.4% pass rush win rate right now. That is up from 11.5% as a rookie and then 12.6% in year two. He is winning a lot more, and his pass rush production score went from 6.8 as a rookie to 6.2 last year and now it is at 10. It made sense to see that his PRP would go up regardless, but with his win rate skyrocketing as well it shot up significantly. If this continues for the rest of the year Oweh is going to turn this into a career-year, even with about five games lost due to injury.