1. Roquan Smith, LB
Did you really need to get to this slide to see? There may be some debate at number two as Hamilton is still coming into his own. However, there is no debate about who the number one spot is. Roquan Smith changed everything about this defense from the second he got traded to Baltimore.
They do not just play faster; they play a more complex style of defense. They switch things up more. It starts with Smith being able to communicate and move the pieces around. Smith makes Kyle Hamilton better because his sturdy presence in the middle allows them to get risky with Hamilton all over the field. The same can be said with Patrick Queen, who immediately played better when Smith was added.
The Mike MacDonald scheme was coming along slowly, and now he is a hot head coaching name after this trade. Nobody fuels this defense and keeps things together better than the single caller up front. Roquan Smith is the best defensive player on the Ravens.