The Baltimore Ravens preseason opener was a great chance to see where players stood as they get ready for the final weeks before cutdowns. There are definitely some risers who made the most of their oppurtunity, but just as many fallers.
Who are the players who hurt their stock this weekend?
10. Dontay Demus is falling down the Baltimore Ravens depth chart
Dontay Demus was one of the more exciting UDFA options for the Baltimore Ravens, mainly because of his ties to Maryland. Still, he also had a strong start to his college career, but injuries in the past few seasons crushed his draft stock. Unfortunately, it still does not look like he has that NFL-caliber ability.
Demus got his chances on Saturday but did not produce. He played 21 snaps and ran 11 routes. Demus was targeted once and did not catch a ball. The only players with that many routes and no catches were James Proche and Tarik Black.
That is what adds on to his issues. We know that the Ravens have about five locks to make the roster. Odell Beckham, Rashod Bateman, Zay Flowers, Nelson Agholor, and Devin Duvernay are as close to locked in as you can get.
So, the sixth spot is really the only one up for grabs. Laquon Treadwell made noise on special teams, while Tylan Wallace hauled in a solid grab for a touchdown. These are the two front runners for the sixth spot, and Demus only hurt his chances of catching them.
9. Jaquan Amos had a strong chance to push up the Baltimore Ravens depth chart
Jaquan Amos went from a potential riser to a faller about as fast as you can see it happen. Amos got the starting nod for the Ravens. Some of that is because Kyle Hamilton and Marcus Williams sat while Geno Stone was injured, and Brandon Stephens moved to cornerback.
So, the team did not have too many other options. Still, it is clear the Ravens wanted to get a look, Amos played 12 snaps, so the Ravens may have saw all that they needed to see, and that is not for the better.
Amos looked a bit lost playing that early into an NFL game. He issed a tackle, and was playing too frantically. He was benched quickly for Jeremy Lucien, who wound up playing a lot more than him. Jordan Swann did not play well, either, but they stuck with him a lot longer than Amos.
They clearly are not just resting Amos, because they liked what they saw because Daryl Worley is fighting for his roster spot, played excellent, and got every snap. If Amos was close to earning a spot, they would have given him the Worley treatment. They knew that they had to move on quick, and play Amos against lesser competition next week.
8. James Proche will not make the Baltimore Ravens roster
The writing is pretty firmly on the wall for James Proche at this point. He had his chances to stick around and did not take advantage and now the team is moving on. Proche was targeted three times and even hauled in one of them, but he wound up with -1 yards total from the game. That is not what you want to see when you are fighting for your roster life.
As we noted with Demus, both Tylan Wallace and Laquan Treadwell saw their stock rise, while Proche is tumbling. Worse than this is that Proche is losing his edge on special teams. To be fair, he was the top punt return option, but he was losing kick return snaps to Keaton Mitchell.
Mitchell had a strong return and showed that he will stay ahead of Proche here moving forward. The next two weeks are more about Proche showcasing his talents for other teams, not about him trying to climb the roster.
7. The Baltimore Ravens have issues in the slot
We all could have seen this coming, but now it is starting to get closer to the season and the issue is becoming glaring. The Ravens relied on Kyle Hamilton in the slot last year, and he saved them. Now, he is starting at strong safety and cannot be in the same place twice.
So, the team needs a slot option. They thought Pepe Williams would be that person, but he suffered an injury and has not been back to practice. Arthur Maulet signed right at the start of training camp but missed week one of the preseason with a few bumps and bruises.
This left the team with Ar'Darius Washington, their third, or arguably fourth option behind Hamilton, Maulet, and Williams. To be fair, Washington played well, but he also shifted to safety for a few snaps because the team needs his depth there. So, the Ravens left this game with almost no resolution. Or, it got messier because they thought that it would be one Maulet or Williams, and now Washington is firmly in the mix.
The slot position is not in the shape that it needs to be with a few weeks to to go until the season. Unfortunately, the outside and safety spots are just as messy right now, so it is hard to find clarity in the Ravens secondary.
6. Ben Cleveland is out of the picture in the Baltimore Ravens left guard competition
Ben Cleveland was one of the winners of draft weekend. The thought was that the Ravens drafted Sala Aumavae-Laulu in round six, and he played right tackle in college, so he is limited competition for his left guard spot. Meanwhile, John Simpson was released by the Raiders and has struggled to start in the NFL. Cleveland just had to beat them out, and he had a starting spot. He could not do it, and the Ravens knew immediately.
Reports came out early that Cleveland was losing snaps to SAL, and Simpson at OTAs. In training camp, Cleveland has hardly even taken a snap at left guard. He has been the backup right guard, and the third string right tackle. He played 23 snaps at guard, and 28 snaps at tackle, both on the right side in the preseason.
This could help in the long term, because both Kevin Zeiteler, and Morgan Moses are expected to be gone by this time next year. Still, he thought he would be competing to start, and he is not even there yet.
5. Kyu Blu Kelly may not make the Baltimore Ravens roster
One of the more fascinating notes from the Ravens preseason opener was their usage at cornerback. With Marlon Humphrey, Rock Ya-Sin, Jalyn Armour-Davis, and both slot options out, there was a chance for someone like Kyu Blu Kelly to show himself.
However, instead of that, the Ravens shifted Brandon Stephens back from safety to cornerback, and they started Kevon Seymour. Seymour played a surprising 63 snaps. He is a veteran and probably earned the snaps over Kelly, but you would think that the team wanted to see their draft pick in his debut for an extended look, not the veteran journeyman.
Kelly did not get into the game until late. He finished with just 17 snaps. Some names who played more than him include Jordan Swann, Jeremy Lucien, Malik Hamm, and Kelle Sanders. All of them are rookie UDFAs, and all of them not only got on the field sooner and they played longer. Considering how weak the cornerback depth is, this is fascinating.
Kelly played 10 snaps on special teams, but he was not great in that role either. The injuries keep bumping him up the roster, but it appears he cannot latch onto a job.
4. Melvin Gordon may not stick with the Baltimore Ravens for long
When the Baltimore Ravens signed Melvin Gordon, it looked like J.K. Dobbins insurance. Now, Gordon looks like he is just training camp depth. Dobbins did not play in the preseason, and the team played Gordon, but he was not on the field until late in the second half.
So, they were not saving him because he was a Dobbins replacement; he was just far behind the others on the depth chart. With Dobbins out, the Ravens still used all of their other running backs, so this was a look at how the backfield may shake out. It was Justice Hill in the Dobbins role.
This makes sense because Gus Edwards is the power, while Dobbins is the speed. They cannot replace Dobbins' role with Edwards, or Gordon, so it is Hill stepping up, and those two are staying in their role.
That means that Gordon is not a lock for the roster. He was behind Keaton Mitchell, and Mitchell was returning kicks, showing more all-around value. If Dobbins does come back, the room is getting too crowded for Gordon, who did stay on the Chiefs practice squad last year and may be a practice squad player this year as well.
3. Is Tyler Huntley done with the Baltimore Ravens?
One small note we brought up early in the preseason was that Tyler Huntley did not have complete job security. He still had work to do to secure his spot on the Ravens depth chart. The team has a new offensive coordinator who will ask different things of their quarterback. They also have to worry about the salary cap now, and they can save a little bit by moving from Huntley to Josh Johnson.
So, Johnson got the start over Huntley. Huntley went from starting a playoff game to playing in the second half of a preseason game. Beyond that, he was injured for a bit in the game. He ended up being fine, but his roster status may not be.
Huntley has to blow away the competition to keep his job because of the salary mechanics at work. If it is close, the Ravens will choose to save the money and stick with Johnson, who they know well. So, Huntley has two more weeks to show that he belongs. It is still flying under the radar, but as we get closer to the season, the seat of Huntley may get hotter.
2. Jalyn Armour-Davis had a chance to make noise for the Baltimore Ravens
It is tough to say that this is a stock-down player because an injury is the reason that he is here. You cannot control that as much as you may want. Still, Jalyn Armour-Davis needed to bring it this preseason, and one-third of his chances flew by without him playing.
What stings the most is that he had a wideopen chance to get snaps. The Ravens started Kevon Seymour, and Brandon Stephens. Seymour has been around and is not a longterm option, and Stephens was playing safety about a week ago. So, if they had any interest in Armour-Davis, he would have started. That is why it is alarming that Kyu Blu Kelly did not start.
JAD is going to stay on the roster bubble, and he may be the reason the team signs an outside cornerback. That is not where he wants to be, and now he only has two weeks to change that outcome.
1. Tavius Robinson did not play well in his NFL debut with the Baltimore Ravens
When the Baltimore Ravens drafted Tavius Robinson in round four, they had high hopes for him. The Ravens have had hits in that range of the draft before, and it was Eric DeCosta giving him the highest of praise by comparing him to ZaDarius Smith. It was only one preseason game, but we saw nothing close to that yet.
Robinson played 31 defensive snaps and rushed the passer 18 times. He did record a pressure but was one of the worst-graded defenders, per PFF. The tape backed it up as he showed little juice off of the ball. What hurts more is that you cannot just praise the Eagles.
Two UDFA rookies, Malik Hamm, and Kelle Sanders, both looked much better than Tavius Robinson. It was their debut, they played the tackles, and they both looked better than Robinson. Even Jeremiah Moon showed more versatility and a skill set that could keep him on the roster over Robinson.
It is only one week, and the next two will play a bigger factor, but all three of these guys are rookies, and at some point, draft capital will not matter.
If Hamm remains better than Robinson for the next two weeks, who is to say that they cut Hamm, just because of an evaluation they made a few months ago? Robinson has to fight to keep his roster spot after he played poorly, and the others excelled.