The Ravens are two weeks into training camp and hold their first preseason game this coming Friday, Aug. 9, when they host the Philadelphia Eagles at 7:30 p.m. While many starters won’t play in that game, those competing for roster spots will have their next best chance to make a case for a job, and rookies will get their first real experience playing in the NFL.
The Ravens have to find three new starters on the offensive line and fill a few other holes, and especially on defense, players are adjusting to several new position coaches and a new coordinator in Zach Orr. But other than the illness that sidelined reigning MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson for the first few days, it’s been a relatively drama-free camp thus far.
Whether it’s an established starter or a bubble guy hoping to make the team, players talk about the importance of “stacking days” this time of year, putting together one solid practice after another en route to the regular season.
Through the opening two weeks of training camp, here are five players who have done exactly that:
CB JALYN ARMOUR-DAVIS
During a red zone period a week ago, Armour-Davis had good position on a pass intended for tight end Mark Andrews and grabbed the interception. A few days later, he ran stride for stride with rookie receiver Isaiah Washington and broke up a pass in a 3-on-3 drill and later had Sean Ryan blanketed down the middle to force an incompletion.
Plays like that have been the rule and not the exception this summer for Armour-Davis, who has played with increasing confidence and has asserted himself as one of the best defenders in camp. The Ravens have long praised Armour-Davis’ ability — last year at this time, longtime secondary coach Chris Hewitt touted him as a potential starter — but the 2022 fourth-round pick from Alabama was sidelined by injuries and Brandon Stephens emerged as a lockdown cornerback opposite Marlon Humphrey.
Armour-Davis has appeared in just 12 of 34 games during his first two seasons, both of which ended with him on injured reserve. If he can stay healthy and show the kind of coverage skills and nose for the ball he has demonstrated so far in camp, Armour-Davis will find himself in the rotation at outside cornerback.
“He’s always played very good football,” head coach John Harbaugh said. “He’s had nicks and things like that, kind of unfortunate situations, but we expect him to have a really good year.”
CB MARLON HUMPHREY
Humphrey’s not fighting for a roster spot, but to hear him tell it, he is fighting to regain his Pro Bowl form after an injury-marred 2023 season. Humphrey has looked the part this summer. He recorded two interceptions in two separate practices, with all four coming against Lamar Jackson, and he has been around the ball throughout the first two weeks.
In his first session with the media this summer, Humphrey, 28, said he is about 10 pounds lighter than some recent years, noting that he wanted to get back to his playing weight of his best NFL seasons. He made the Pro Bowl in 2019 and 2020 and again in 2022.
Last season, Humphrey was sidelined by a foot injury for the first four games, and later missed three other regular-season games and one playoff game. He finished the year with 26 tackles, the fewest in his seven NFL seasons.
When he’s on, Humphrey remains among the premier cornerbacks in the league, and the effort is always there. The Ravens used their top draft pick on cornerback Nate Wiggins, which added to the depth of the secondary group, but so far this summer, a lighter, leaner Humphrey has indeed turned back the clock and has flashed Pro Bowl form, or as close to that as he can during non-contact workouts.
TE ISAIAH LIKELY
During the first week of camp, with Lamar Jackson sidelined, wide receiver Rashod Bateman shined. During the second week, once Jackson returned, tight end Mark Andrews made some dazzling plays and showed why he has been Jackson’s favorite target for the past five years. But one offensive player who consistently stepped up across both weeks was Likely, the third-year tight end who is hoping to build on his second half of the 2023 season.
With Andrews sidelined by an ankle injury, Likely scored five touchdowns in the final five regular-season games and had another in the postseason.
During the camp drill featuring pass catchers against defenders in one-on-one matchups, battles between Likely and safety Kyle Hamilton have consistently been among the best. Some days, Likely has outdueled Hamilton, and some days vice versa, but Likely said the two usually get together afterward and review the reps, which make both better.
Offensive coordinator Todd Monken said he wants to get his best playmakers on the field, and Likely this summer continues to look like one of them. Expect to see a lot of two-tight-end looks with both Andrews and Likely on the field.
CB ARTHUR MAULET
[Injury Update: John Harbaugh said after practice Aug. 6 that cornerback Arthur Maulet is dealing with a knee injury that is “not going to be season-ending.” More]
It’s no accident that a third cornerback finds his way onto this list, because the secondary has been the standout position group to this point.
During an early camp practice, Josh Johnson tried to hit Nelson Agholor down the right sideline, and Maulet soared to make an acrobatic interception that might be the catch of the summer. Last week, Maulet made a great diving play to break up a pass intended for Malik Cunningham in a one-on-one period, and he broke up a pass in the end zone for Agholor.
Maulet’s celebration after that play indicated that Maulet is playing with great confidence and a little swagger to boot. And with good reason. Pretty much every practice, Maulet has turned in a play that would be a game-changer in live action.
The signing of Maulet to a one-year deal last summer proved to be a key under-the-radar move by general manager Eric DeCosta. Playing as a nickel back, Maulet finished with 34 tackles and two sacks and was also one of the team’s core special teamers. He was rewarded with a new two-year deal early in free agency this year.
Maulet, 31, might not be the team’s everyday slot defender, because the Ravens also love safety Kyle Hamilton in that role, and Humphrey can slide in there as well. But Hamilton is a Swiss-Army-knife type who can play all over the defense, and Maulet has shown time and again this summer that with him on the field, the defense remains in good hands.
OLB ODAFE OWEH
At one point during the first week of camp, John Harbaugh said he “had to pull the reins in” on Oweh, telling him not to get too close to the quarterback.
“We don’t want to have any car crashes out there, but he’s doing a great job,” Harbaugh continued. “He’s bringing it. He’s pretty much been in the backfield every play.”
It’s true; defenders aren’t allowed to sack the quarterback in training camp practices, but if they were, Oweh would have had at least one sack every practice the first week. He beat tackles on both sides, and he won on stunts up the middle against the Ravens’ revamped offensive line. Oweh also did a nice job setting the edge against the run at times, forcing running backs to turn inside where players such as Travis Jones — another camp standout — was ready to bury them.
Oweh was a little quieter in the second week, during more intense padded practices, but the Ravens have to love what they have seen from him so far as they still face concerns about the depth of the edge rush group.
The Ravens exercised Oweh’s fifth-year option this year, a big vote of confidence for the fourth-year player who was taken No. 31 overall in the 2021 draft. Harbaugh said he is hoping for “I guess you’d call it a breakout year” for Oweh, who has never had more than five sacks in a season.
“[He] wants to take it to the next level and go ahead and get the quarterback on the ground,” Harbaugh added.
Whether he can do that won’t be known until defenders are actually allowed to do that, but thus far, Oweh has looked more than ready.
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