Marlon Humphrey Wants Ravens to Reestablish Defensive Identity

At just 28-years-old and set to turn 29 early next month, four-time Pro Bowl cornerback Marlon Humphrey is the longest-tenured defender on the Baltimore Ravens roster. He was the team's last first-round pick of the pre-Lamar Jackson era when they selected him No. 16 overall out of Alabama in 2017.

For a long time before and upon his arrival, the Ravens' identity as a team was tied to being dominant on defense. He got to spend his first two years in the league playing alongside franchise legend Terrell Suggs, who was the last holdover of the golden age defensive excellence.

Back then, the Ravens were "all about defense" and among the most feared units in the NFL. Although they have fielded several top-five and even the top-ranked defense in 2023, Humphrey feels like he has let their elite standards on that side of the ball slip and believes reestablishing it will be key to them finally getting over the hump and winning a Super Bowl.

"That's something that I want to get back," Humphrey said. "Obviously, we love Lamar Jackson. He's a great player, but I want the Ravens' identity to be defense like it was when I first got here, so that's something that we're chirping in our room."

While they are still renowned for their physicality on that side of the ball, one key element of their dominance that they haven't been consistent with year after year has been forcing turnovers. In 2023, they tied for the most in the NFL with 31, but they didn't even crack the top 10 last year with 17, which tied for 20th. Taking the ball away at a higher rate is a point of emphasis that Humphrey said defensive coordinator Zach Orr is "leading the front with" heading into his second year as the play-caller.

"We have to get the football," Humphrey said. "I was unaware of how elite that 2000 Ravens defense was, and when I was watching some of those playoff games, you didn't really need an offense, honestly. They were just making so many plays [and forcing] turnovers."

The Ravens aren't going to wait until the regular season to focus on improving their ability to generate more turnovers, because they know the process starts in practice. They have adapted what he describes as a "very detailed-out grading system" to monitor the progress they're making and will review and grade every detail they can think of to help them get better as individuals and as a unit as a whole.

"I think it'll ultimately help us be the defense that I feel like Baltimore deserves, so that's the biggest thing," Humphrey said. "We have to get that back. I think that's crucial to get that standard back, and that's all I'm thinking about as I go on this break as you're training. When you come back, it's go time, and it's all about the ball... I think that's what our defense is going to be focused on, and that's what we're going to do this season."

Humphrey pointed to the Ravens' inability to force turnovers when it matters most in the postseason, which in particular has been a key factor in them not being able to make it to the Super Bowl. In each of their last two playoff losses, they didn't force a single turnover while their opponents came up with three on each occasion, with the 2024 Divisional Round against the Buffalo Bills being the most recent example.

"The Bills had three turnovers; the Ravens had zero, and that right there is just the tale of the story," Humphrey said. "Three turnovers are more than likely going to win the game. Two turnovers, you're more than likely going to win the game. Even one turnover, you're more than likely going to win the game if the other team has zero."

The two-time All Pro believes that it doesn't really matter how well a team plays defensively if they can't steal additional possessions for their offense and prevent their opponents from scoring points of any kind by taking the ball away.

"If you can't get the football, you're not playing good enough, and so that's the biggest thing to harp on," Humphrey said.

The Ravens don't have a shortage of ball hawks in the backend and hard hitters in the front seven, but a defense that forces turnovers at a high rate needs 100% buy-in to swarm to the ball on every play. The more defenders involved, the better the chances of one of them forcing a fumble or contesting a catch at its highest point become.

"I feel like when I first got here, once again, the Raven Flu was a real thing," Humphrey said. "All of a sudden, the guy with the hamstring [was] like 'Ah, he'll be playing next week.' There was a fear of when you stepped on the field. There was a fear to throw a screen, because you've got four [defensive] linemen coming that are retracing, and that standard... I think the OTA was a good glimpse of what we're preaching, putting it to practice, and then [when] training camp comes, season comes, everybody's got to be rolling."