Ravens DB Could Carve Out Diverse Role

One of the greatest strengths and keys to success for the Baltimore Ravens' defense over the past decade, and especially the last three seasons in particular, has been the schematic flexibility that having multiple defensive backs in their secondary capable of playing different positions provides.

Over the years they've had safeties that can double as dime linebackers (Anthony Levine, Chuck Clark and Tony Jefferson), corners who can moonlight at safety and play nickel at a high level (Ladarius Webb and Marlon Humphrey) and safeties who can play hybrid slot roles such as Ar'Darius Washington. In the case of two-time Pro Bowler Kyle Hamilton, he can do all the above.

The Ravens could add another name to that list soon, as fourth-year cornerback Jalyn Armour-Davis could see his role expand heading into a contract year after the team gave him some reps at safety during OTAs. This experiment could give them another possible contingency option at safety following the torn Achilles suffered by Washington last month that will cause him to miss most of the 2025 season.

"Since I've been here, way back in 2014, it's always been preached; you want to get your best 11 guys on the field," defensive coordinator Zach Orr said Thursday. "In a secondary, most of the time, you're going to have at least five [defensive backs] on the field – sometimes six, maybe seven – so you want to get your best 11 [on the field], but especially with the Top 5 (defensive backs), you want to play with the best five."

Armour-Davis was originally drafted in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL Draft out of Alabama, and despite showing impressive flashes at times, he struggled to stay on the field long enough to earn and keep a starting job due to injury. He has never played more than eight games in any of his first first three seasons with just 19 total appearances under his belt and 20 total tackles, including one for a loss, two pass breakups and three career starts to show for it.

With this new exploration of his talents, Armour-Davis' career arc could be the inverse of former Raven Brandon Stephens. The 2021 third-rounder started his career with the team as a safety, played a hybrid role and finished it as a two-year starter at outside cornerback before departing in free agency this offseason and signing a sizable deal with the New York Jets.

"You don't want to limit yourself or a player just because, 'Well, he's only a corner, so even though he might be better than a safety, we can't play him because he's only a corner.' So, we force our guys to learn everything, and then we start throwing them out there to see if they can pick it up and execute at a high level," Orr said.

Armour-Davis has already impressed the coaching staff with how quickly he has been able to pick up the different positions they've asked him to learn to play.

"He probably might be the smartest DB in the room, because he knows all the positions," Orr said. "He can play all the positions, but he's just one of the guys we're starting to do that with, and you'll start seeing more guys do that as we get going."

The preseason and joint practices with other teams during training camp will go a long way towards helping Armour-Davis not just earn a roster spot heading into the final year of his rookie contract, but also carve out a role that will allow him to finally blossom if he can stay healthy.