The Ravens’ rookies played the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday in what might have been their second-best defensive performance of the season. The two rookies on special teams probably had the best days of the entire class.
Starks has taken a lot of heat this season, and rightfully so: the first-round pick hasn’t lived up to expectations. It was another tough day for Starks, with a 43.1 PFF grade. His run, tackling and pass rush grades were all 60.0 or above, but his coverage grade was 43.1.
However, it’s hard to put all of the blame for the team’s defensive woes on him. First, remember that Kyle Hamilton also struggled as a rookie, especially early on, contributing heavily to the blown game against Miami in Baltimore in 2022. Second, he’s a rookie safety playing 100% of snaps with a lot of responsibilities on a bad defense. Right now, the biggest goal for him is to limit devastating mistakes and hope for flashes the rest of the season. Then ideally, an offseason of training and some changes in the organization can prepare him for a big sophomore year.
Similar to Starks, Green’s rookie season is a disappointment considering the talent that was advertised. Green actually had one of his best days according to PFF, with a 65.0 grade. While he performed well in the other grading categories, the frustrating part is that his pass rush grade was a 55.5, as part of a poor showing by a group of edge rushers that failed to record a single pressure in the game.
Green is firmly entrenched as a high snap count player, with Odafe Oweh being traded away, Tavius Robinson going down with an injury, and Adisa Isaac still weeks away from a return. With only three healthy players, the outside linebacker room is going to get reinforcements during the bye week. Even so, Green’s role and snap count will likely not change much. Similar to Starks, the hope is that Green can show flashes as his rookie season goes on and then an offseason of adding NFL-level strength will boost him into year two.
With Roquan Smith still out, Buchanan took 100% of the snaps again like last week. While he once again struggled to process as the top inside backer for the team (a 48.2 run grade and a 62.4 coverage grade), he had a great day showing off his athleticism as a run-and-tackle player (an 81.8 tacking grade and 73.3 pass rush grade). He finished with a team-leading nine tackles along with two pressures, including his first career sack. Smith is expected to return after the bye week, allowing Buchanan to reduce his responsibilities and focus on what he can do to help the team now. Though the team has praised Trenton Simpson’s play since Smith went down, he is more likely to take more snaps as a SAM outside linebacker, further entrenching Buchanan’s role as the ILB2.
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