Camp Notes: Secondary Depth Tested, Next Men Stepping Up

If there’s one team built to withstand three secondary injuries within the span of a week, it’s the 2024 Baltimore Ravens.

Brandon Stephens and Ar’Darius Washington were among the standout players in today’s @RussellStReport daily camp update, c/o @LifeMedInst. pic.twitter.com/dMxuvQ1hY1

— Nikhil Mehta (@nikknowsball) August 12, 2024

The Ravens’ secondary has been the team’s biggest story throughout the summer after adding 30th overall pick Nate Wiggins to an elite DB group. Marlon Humphrey impressed with his speed and tenacity to start training camp, and Arthur Maulet made plays on the ball in seemingly every practice.

But the last week has yielded more setbacks than highlights, with Maulet undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery, Wiggins spraining his shoulder in Friday’s preseason game, and Hamilton dealing with a sprain to his left leg. The Ravens are optimistic that none of the three injuries are serious, with only Maulet’s expected to extend into the regular season.

That still left plenty of snaps unaccounted for during Monday’s practice, with Brandon Stephens, Ar’Darius Washington and Jalyn Armour-Davis stepping up throughout the afternoon.

Stephens has become the forgotten man of Baltimore’s secondary amid preseason hype around Humphrey, Hamilton, and Wiggins, but he’s been one of the most consistent defenders for the past several weeks. He dominated 1-on-1’s on Monday, allowing just one catch on six targets with three pass deflections. (The only completion was to none other than summer star Isaiah Likely.) Stephens carried his performance into 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 work, breaking up a few more passes and allowing just one completion downfield, a perfect red zone slot fade from Lamar Jackson to Keith Kirkwood.

Ka’Dar Hollman was another standout in 1-on-1’s, breaking up two of the three passes thrown his way as part of a solid secondary effort in a drill that normally favors the offense.

Ar’Darius Washington and Jalyn Armour-Davis saw a lot of action during Monday’s practice with Maulet and Wiggins sidelined. Armour-Davis had a solid day, allowing a few completions while recording two PBUs and an interception off the hands of Nelson Agholor. Washington had one of the best practices of the afternoon with pass deflections from multiple defensive alignments.

“He’s playing at a high level; you saw it today,” said Harbaugh of the third-year defensive back. “He’s playing both safety positions, he’s playing the nickel, he can play either corner outside, if he had to, to get you out of a game, and he can go in a dime if he had to – he knows the defense that well.”

That versatility is why the Ravens have stuck with Washington through multiple injuries since signing him as an undrafted free agent in 2022. With Maulet potentially sidelined into the regular season, Washington’s ability to play both safety and nickel will allow defensive coordinator Zach Orr to move Kyle Hamilton around the defense as he pleases.

It wasn’t the offense’s most explosive practice, but they ran the ball well and limited turnovers with just the aforementioned Armour-Davis interception and one fumble. A rough period of 1-on-1’s and an 0-3 start from Lamar Jackson in 11-on-11’s portended a big day for the defense that never materialized. Jackson finished approximately 18-23 in full team work, finding receivers in traffic and occasionally off his back foot while not pushing the ball down the sidelines.

As usual, Baltimore’s tight ends were Jackson’s favorite targets. Likely had a nice day with a number of catches, and Mark Andrews came down with a one-handed catch on a playground-style connection with Jackson.

Qadir Ismail continues to be one of the team’s best undrafted rookies this year, showcasing his physicality in multiple ways during Monday’s proceedings. He made one catch through contact from multiple defenders and later picked up yards after a catch by stiff-arming a defender to the turf.

John Harbaugh complimented Ismail’s physicality after practice, saying that he was a “surprise as a blocker” after converting from wide receiver to tight end this summer.

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