Former Patriots defensive back and current NBC analyst Devin McCourty says Ravens standout safety Kyle Hamilton represents a new breed of defensive back without a defined position, a trend that began when McCourty was in the league and has accelerated with the development of Hamilton in 2023.
Hamilton, 22, was taken No. 14 overall out of Notre Dame in the 2022 NFL Draft, when the Ravens didn’t have a pressing need for a safety. However, the Ravens saw Hamilton as the best player available, and he has rewarded their faith in him.
The 6-foot-4, 220-pound defensive back is in line for his first career Pro Bowl nod. Hamilton has started all 13 games this year, though his status is up in the air for the Ravens’ game in Jacksonville on Dec. 17. He has posted 69 tackles (9 for loss), 3 sacks and 2 interceptions, along with 9 passes defensed.
Hamilton is the highest-graded safety in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus. He has played 93 percent of the Ravens’ defensive snaps so far this year, according to Pro Football Reference, and has a knack for creating problems all over the field for opposing offenses — as a slot corner, as a blitzer or as a run defender.
“I think we saw an emergence during my time in the league of teams realizing how important it was to have safeties that can play in the deep part of the field, have safeties that can really run,” McCourty said on Glenn Clark Radio Dec. 14. “[The league has] moved away from the linebacker/safety role where you had guys that could [run] downhill, take your head off.”
McCourty said he began to appreciate Hamilton’s impact when he was preparing for NBC’s “Football Night In America” ahead of Ravens-Chargers in Week 12. The longtime Patriots standout watched film from the Ravens’ 34-20 win against the Bengals in Week 11 to prepare, and Hamilton jumped off the tape.
McCourty noticed that the Ravens did not use Hamilton as a traditional safety.
“I’m watching and I’m like, ‘Damn, they just left him one-on-one with Ja’Marr Chase on an out route. Oh wow, he’s one-on-one with Tyler Boyd,'” McCourty said. “That’s when I was like, ‘OK, this kid’s not normal. He’s not just playing a safety role. He has the versatility to do everything.’ And then you keep watching and it’s like, ‘All right, he’s blitzing. All right, he sees the run and he’s taking off and getting a TFL.’ You can’t define his position.”
McCourty played in New England from 2010-2022, earning two Pro Bowl nods and winning three Super Bowl rings. The 5-foot-10, 195-pound defensive back out of Rutgers began his NFL career as a cornerback but moved to safety by the end of the 2012 season.
McCourty saw versatile defensive backs emerge as weapons during his time in the league, but Hamilton represents a new breed.
“You saw a big transition of a lot of corners, like myself, playing corner and then moving to safety,” McCourty said. “And now I think you’re seeing some of these guys who are hybrid corner/safety/linebacker, which is ridiculous to think of, but Kyle Hamilton fits that mold. There’s not a Kyle Hamilton on every team, but I think you’re going to start to see teams go out there and really search to find guys like him because they’re difference-makers.”
For more from McCourty, listen to the full interview here:
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