Ravens' Kyle Hamilton Predicted to Win Major Award

With the new extension in hand, could Hamilton be in line for a special season? The Athletic's Jeff Zrebiec believes so, with Hamilton winning Defensive Player of the Year being his bold prediction for Baltimore this year.

"This award is typically dominated by pass rushers, but Denver’s Patrick Surtain II showed last year that defensive backs can win it with spectacular seasons," Zrebiec wrote. "Hamilton is certainly capable of making that type of impact.

"The Ravens’ selection of Georgia safety Malaki Starks in the first round will allow defensive coordinator Zach Orr to push Hamilton back into the matchup/roving role that he flourished in during the 2023 season. It also will allow Hamilton to play closer to the line of scrimmage, which should lead to more production with sacks, tackles for loss and forced turnovers."

It will be tough for Hamilton seeing as how only two defensive backs have won Defensive Player of the Year since 2010 — Surtain last year and then-New England Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore in 2019. However, it is certainly possible, especially for a player of his caliber.

Like any other Raven, though, the focus remains on the ultimate team goal.

"Super Bowl, really," Hamilton said Wednesday when asked if there's a "next step" he wants to take. "I think you check a lot of boxes off, hopefully, throughout your football career. And not toot my own horn, but I feel like I've checked a good bit [of those boxes] ever since high school, and a Super Bowl still has yet to be checked. So, that's the next one that I want to check off."

"All the personal accolades and stuff, that's cool. But I feel like, as a team [and] as an organization – I've talked to Mr. [Steve] Bisciotti – and it's just that [we want to win] a Super Bowl, and we're not trying to wait anymore. So, we want to get greedy with that. We want to do that now, as soon as possible, and stack them."