'He should have been drafted' — Ravens standout undrafted rookie collects praise from defensive coordinator Zach Orr entering final showing before cuts

The Baltimore Ravens' 53-man roster is going to be a tough one to crack. Baltimore is brimming with talent and there's no shortage of players who have been invested in to keep a steady flow of starting talent and young heirs ready to be called upon. The competition is bountiful. And, in some cases, a numbers game may prove to be insurmountable.

That's the mountain that undrafted rookie Jay Higgins is trying to climb. The Ravens have one of the best stack linebackers in football courtesy of Roquan Smith and he's surrounded by recent draft choices Trenton Simpson and Teddye Buchanan. Sprinkle in a free agent addition in Jake Hummel and the number of true off-ball options could very easily be considered filled.

Higgins is doing what he can. And the consistency of his performance this summer has caught the eye of Baltimore's defensive coordinator, Zach Orr. Orr sees a long NFL future for Higgins, although only time will tell if that ultimately comes in Baltimore.

Undrafted rookie LB Jay Higgins' instincts impressing defensive coordinator Zach Orr

"(Jay Higgins IV) is a really instinctive player...it's rare nowadays. A lot of linebackers now got moved to linebacker late in college or his first time playing the position was in college. He's been a linebacker basically his whole life. So, he understands how to read linemen, read pulls, understands zone drops, man drops, spacing in coverage. That’s underrated for the linebacker position. He was a great player in college. His resume speaks for itself, he should have been drafted, but measurables probably knocked him down. He's definitely athletic enough [and] fast enough to play at this level. [When] you combine that with his IQ and playmaking ability; he keeps it going. There's no reason why he shouldn't play a long time in this league. He works at it. He works hard. I am just very pleased with him.” 

— Ravens defensive coordinator Zach Orr on undrafted rookie linebacker Jay Higgins

Higgins has been a tremendous performer for Baltimore in both preseason contests and has offered more than a dozen special teams snaps across the first two games as well. That special teams profile is going to be a critical piece of the puzzle for Baltimore if Higgins is going to crack the 53-man roster — bottom end of the roster players need to be able to offer value in that phase of the game.

It's a good start for Higgins and the vote of confidence from Orr should offer a glimmer of hope that another standout performance could make Higgins an undeniable choice for the 53-man, whether that comes at the expense of Hummel or if it ultimately prompts the Ravens to keep five stack linebackers on their initial trimmed roster next week.

This will be one to watch, as Higgins as likely played too well to not have caught someone else's attention if he's dropped from Baltimore's control. Based on his coach's comments, it's probably fair to assume that we know what outcome Orr is hoping for.