3 stats Baltimore Ravens fans must know about Ronald Darby

2. Ronald Darby is a better zone cornerback

The good news with Ronald Darby is that he definitely checks the boxes for what the Ravens need in their cornerbacks. With Mike MacDonald, the Ravens are shifting from a man-heavy scheme to a more zone-heavy look. Rock Ya-Sin was primarily a zone cornerback and signaled that the change was here to stay.

Now, they add Darby, who is much better in zone. He has played man coverage a lot more than Rock Ya-Sin, but he also struggles there. The best example would be his run from 2018 through 2020. In 2018, the Eagles were zone-heavy, and he allowed an 86.5 passer rating with 1.05 yards per snap allowed. In 2019, they moved to more man coverage, and Darby allowed a 117.9 passer rating with 1.94 yards per snap.

Finally, in 2020, he went back to zone heavy, and he went back to an 87.6 passer rating with 1.2 yards per snap. Darby was playing well through five games with the Broncos, and he was only 2-7 when tested in zone coverage for the year. He can hang as long as he is zone, and he will be in zone for the majority of his time with the Baltimore Ravens.