The Baltimore Ravens signed Ronald Darby in a move that essentially had to happen. The team had almost no depth due to the health issues on the roster, and Darby was easily one of the biggest names still available to sign. Now that Darby is with the team, what should fans know?
3. Ronald Darby brings an injury question mark to the Baltimore Ravens
If the Baltimore Ravens thought that they were getting out of the injury business at cornerback when they signed Darby, they are mistaken. The main reason Daby has not signed anywhere yet is tied to his injuries.
Darby is coming off of a torn ACL in 2022. That occurred in week five, after 280 snaps. In 2021, he missed time early in the season with a hamstring injury and played just 675 snaps. So, he has played 955 snaps in the past two seasons. To put that into comparison, he played 1,002 snaps in 2020 alone.
The Ravens did not sign the healthiest name. He is not only coming off the ACL; he will be 29 years old to start this season. So, there is a case to be made that he will not get the step back, even after he has fully recovered from the ACL. It goes deeper than that, though.
Darby has started 16 games in a season just once. He played 11 games in 2019, nine in 2018, and seven in 2017, So, the Ravens should not even anticipate a full season from Darby at this point. That stings when you factor in that he is the answer to their injury issues. At the same time, if he can buy them a couple of weeks it could get them to Humphrey returning.
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.
1. Ronald Darby will help the Baltimore Ravens in run defense
An underrated piece of Ronald Darby is that he is actually rather reliable in run defense. This is another reason why he should be viewed as such a strong fit with the Baltimore Ravens. Last year, he only had 107 run defense snaps but ranked fourth in run defense grade, per PFF.
In 2021, he ranked 15th in run stops, 16th in missed tackle rate, and 17th in PFF grade against the run. He was sixth in run defense grade in 2020, 12th in missed tackles, and 15th in run stops. Essentially, when he is on the field, he is one of the 20 best run-defense cornerbacks in the NFL.
This is valuable in the AFC North, where the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns plan to punch teams in the mouth. Beyond that, Marlon Humphrey is also one of the best run-defense cornerbacks in the NFL. As much as Darby can do to hold down the fort until Humphrey comes back would be major. If the run defense at cornerback can stay strong, it would be a big win, and that is part of why the Ravens had to sign Ronald Darby.