Ravens outside linebacker Jaylon Ferguson faces a critical season.
The third-year player from Louisiana Tech needs to start living up to his nickname "Sack Daddy."
Ferguson, who was selected by the Ravens in their round (85th overall) of the 2019 NFL Draft, has amassed just 4.5 sacks over his career.
The Ravens selected a pair of edge rushers — Odafe Oweh and Daelin Hayes — in this year's draft and both players will be pushing for playing time.
Baltimore defensive coordinator Don Martindale is confident Ferguson is going to be more productive this season. But Ferguson has to prove he can be a productive player.
“He’s in great shape," Martindale said. "His mind’s in the right place. He’s working on the right things that are going to help us win.”
The opportunity is available for Ferguson to make a bigger impact because of the losses this offseason.
Matt Judon, who led the team with six sacks last season, signed a new deal with the Patriots as a free agent. Yannick Ngakoue signed with the Raiders after finishing with eight overall, but only three in nine games for Baltimore. Jihad Ward, who signed with the Jaguars, managed three sacks last season.
Ferguson broke the NCAA record for career sacks with 45, eclipsing the previous mark set by Terrell Suggs, who is Baltimore's all-time sacks leader. As a result, Ferguson instantly drew comparisons to T-Sizzle when he arrived in Baltimore.
After a slow start to his rookie season, Ferguson took advantage of more playing time when fellow linebacker Pernell McPhee suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 7. The 6-foot-5, 270-pound Ferguson finished with 2.5 sacks, 31 tackles, and nine quarterback hits in 14 games (nine starts).
Last year, he saw action in 14 games (one start), had 30 tackles (21 solo), two sacks, seven tackles for a loss, five quarterback hits, one fumble recover,y and one pass defensed.
"I just feel most of the time I want it more because I want to play on the ball," Ferguson said last season. "I want to rush on third down, and I’ve got to earn my right to rush.”
The key now is for Ferguson to take the next step in his career.
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