Ravens Rookie Review: Top Picks Disappoint in Primetime

After being a steady presence in the backend for the first two games of the season, the first-round safety had his worst game as a pro to date against the Lions. Not only did he not make any impactful plays in coverage, but he was one of the main culprits in the Ravens overall poor tackling performance. Starks played 100% of the team's total defensive snaps and finished with a career-high 8 total tackles, including three solos and one for a loss.

OLB Mike Green

With Pro Bowl veteran Kyle Van Noy out with a hamstring injury, the second-round edge defender saw another uptick in his snaps on defense. His 52 snaps were second only to Tavius Robinson among outside linebackers and nearly doubled the total of Odafe Oweh, who played 28. Unfortunately, instead of breaking out, Green got held in check early and often by the Lions’ fabulous Pro Bowl tackle duo. He posted a pass rush win rate of just 4.2% and got pancaked a couple of times as a pass rusher. Against the run, he failed to consistently set the edge and took a few bad angles on perimeter runs, including one that resulted in a touchdown by Jahmyr Gibbs from 4 yards out on fourth-and-short. Green finished with a career-high 4 total tackles, including a pair for a loss. He also recorded a quarterback hit, but is still searching for his first career sack.

LB Teddye Buchanan

The fourth-round rookie has completely taken over as the Ravens' starting WILL linebacker next to three-time All-Pro MIKE Roquan Smith. He went from being in a near-even rotation with third-year pro Trenton Simpson in Week 1 to playing the bulk of the snaps in Week 2 and was on the field for 64 of the Ravens' 68 total defensive plays against the Lions. Meanwhile, Simpson has been relegated to playing exclusively on special teams, with all 17 of his snaps in this game coming in the third phase. Buchanan wasn't exempt from blame in the unit's overall poor performance, but he made some nice plays as well in run support and in coverage when he pushed a Gibbs out of bounds for a modest gain and prevented him from getting upfield. He recorded a new career-high in total tackles for the third week in a row with 8, which tied for the second-most on the team and included 4 solos.

K Tyler Loop

While the sixth-round rookie made all of his kicks—going 3-of-3 on extra points and barely eking his lone field goal attempt over the left upright from 41 yards out—he continues to struggle with consistency on kickoffs. For the third week in a row, he gave the opposing offense great starting field position at their own 40-yard line. The Lions responded by marching 60 yards for a touchdown on their first possession of the second half to tie the game at 21-21.

WR LaJohntay Wester

The sixth-round rookie was back to playing exclusively on special teams as a punt returner in this game, with just four snaps. Wester finished with 31 punt return yards on 3 opportunities for an average of 10.3 with a long of 11 yards.

DT Aeneas Peebles

Despite the two-time Pro Bowl veteran defensive tackle being out with a neck injury, the sixth-round rookie still saw limited action. He nearly went back to barely cracking double figures in snaps on defense, playing just 14. He also played a career-high 7 snaps on special teams. However, that didn't stop him from flashing as an interior pass rusher. He won an impressive one-on-one rep by beating the left guard with an inside swim move, which flushed Goff out of the pocket and forced an incompletion on a throwaway. Peebles finished with an assisted tackle and recorded his first career quarterback hit.

CB Keyon Martin

The undrafted free agent out of Louisiana-Lafayette was back to playing predominantly on special teams with 19, which tied Buchanan for the third-most on the team. However, this didn't stop him from making his presence felt in his 3 defensive snaps, filling in for All Pro veteran Marlon Humphrey, who briefly left the game. Martin made a nice open-field tackle on Lions tight end Sam LaPorta who is 5 inches taller and 75 pounds heavier than him for a minimal gain and forced a third down late in the third quarter.

DB Reuben Lowery

After being a healthy scratch in Week 1, the undrafted rookie out of Tennessee-Chattanooga was active for the second week in a row. Lowery barely saw the field with just three snaps on special teams and one on defense.

ILB Jay Higgins

The undrafted free agent out of Iowa played exclusively on special teams for the third week in a row, with 18 snaps, which tied second-year pros Rasheen Ali and Devontez Walker for the fourth-most on the team, accounting for 60% of the total.