Ravens' secondary highlighted as potential "breakout unit" of 2023

Everybody is plugged into the new Baltimore Ravens offense, so it's not that it will catch anybody by surprise if it comes out scoring points with their hair on fire. The status of the secondary, though, has steadily built a very different narrative all summer long.

Be it a lack of proven and tested players, the departure of stars such as Marcus Peters, the endless string of injuries impacting their members, or whatever, it's obvious that the Ravens have had to deal with a lot of trouble when it came to their safety and cornerback room this offseason.

That's perhaps why most people have focused on the negatives while being completely oblivious to the potential positives, entirely neglecting them.

That's not the case with our friend Ryan Mink of BaltimoreRavens.com, who identified the Ravens' secondary and their safety room as a potential "breakout unit" for the 2023 season, particularly thanks to the development of second-year man Kyle Hamilton.

"Baltimore's safety tandem (Kyle Hamilton and Marcus Williams) could be something special this year and will need to be with question marks at cornerback, especially as Marlon Humphrey is sidelined."

- Ryan Mink, BaltimoreRavens.com

The quote above was just Mink's conclusion. In order to reach that point, though, he reasoned that Hamilton's transition to full-time safety "was so smooth that we hardly took notice."

Last season, Hamilton played a lot of his snaps at the nickel cornerback position defending the slot. The idea is for him to move onto the deepest part of the secondary this year, although injuries to multiple cornerbacks might delay that.

Opposite Hamilton will be fellow and long-time safety Marcus Williams, who Mink also wrote about in his latest mailbag. The reporter acknowledged that Williams "isn't a guy that gets a lot of attention," although Mink thinks the safety was "off to a torrid start last season," and now he is "back and even more comfortable as a back-end vocal leader."

All of the eyes of casual fans will inevitably be on the ball and the offensive side of the game, so the likes of Lamar Jackson and Odell Beckham, as well as rookie Zay Flowers, will get all of the tweets and highlights most days.

Look out for the defensive corps, though, as there are many talented players baked into the Ravens' secondary and they might have their best season ever.

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