It's been more than a decade since the Baltimore Ravens boasted the NFL Defensive Player of the Year on their roster. Coincidentally (or not), it's been more than a decade since the Ravens last won the Super Bowl. One of those things, if not the two of them, might be about to change.
The Baltimore Ravens have not seen a player named NFL Defensive Player of the Year since Terrell Suggs won the award all the way back in 2011. If there is a player poised to change that, it must be second-year safety Kyle Hamilton.
In a recent story written over ESPN, Jeremy Fowler identified Hamilton as a "sneaky candidate" for this year's Defensive Player of the Year award, notably mentioning the defender as someone who "has been all over the field with two interceptions, three sacks and eight tackles for loss."
The second-year safety is enjoying a breakout season as a sophomore in Baltimore after the Ravens drafted him 14th overall in 2022. His smooth adaptation to Mike Macdonald's scheme, as well as his do-it-all skill set, have put him in the spotlight and turned him into a vital playmaker in Baltimore's secondary.
Hamilton has missed just four percent of all Ravens' defensive snaps this year while appearing in both safety positions as well as in the nickel covering opposing slot wide receivers.
The sophomore is entering Week 14 with 62 tackles and seven pressures to his name on fewer than 30 blitz attempts through 12 games. On top of that, he's currently boasting a 50 passer rating allowed to the quarterbacks he's faced so far.
Pro Football Focus has Hamilton's pass rush graded at 93.1 (3rd-best in the NFL) and his coverage at 89.6 (2nd-best).
As the season progresses, Hamilton has been one of the fewer steady performers of the Ravens' secondary and most probably, taking everything into consideration, the most-impactful player of the whole defense. That alone merits some serious consideration for him potentially winning the DPOY award even at his young age.