The Ravens signed the first of their two 2019 third-round picks Friday by agreeing to a four-year deal with outside linebacker Jaylon Ferguson.
The projected contract amount for the 85th overall pick was a total of $3.423 million with a signing bonus of just over $900,000. Ferguson’s signing leaves first-round wide receiver Marquise Brown and third-round wide receiver Miles Boykin as Baltimore’s only unsigned picks with the start of training camp just under two months away.
Ferguson was projected by some draft pundits to be drafted in the second round after registering an impressive 45 sacks in four seasons at Louisiana Tech, but some questions about his athleticism led to him still being on the board for the Ravens’ first pick of Day 2. Edge rusher is one of Baltimore’s biggest question marks after the free-agent departures of Za’Darius Smith and Terrell Suggs.
“He’s a guy that his skills et really fits who we are as a defense,” general manager Eric DeCosta said during the draft. “It’s a big hole for us. We lost some really good pass rushers, and we think that Jaylon can come in and really add to the other guys that we have and really help us on third downs and passing situations.”
The 23-year-old is competing with 2017 draft picks Tyus Bowser and Tim Williams as well as veteran newcomers Pernell McPhee and Shane Ray for immediate playing time. Fourth-year outside linebacker Matthew Judon has not been present for voluntary organized team activities open to the media, but he will be entering his third season as a starter and is entering the final year of his rookie contract.
Understandable comparisons have been drawn to Suggs after Ferguson broke the former Raven’s NCAA Division I career sacks record, but the 6-foot-5, 259-pound pass rusher nicknamed “Sack Daddy” understands there’s no replacing one of the best players in franchise history.
“That’s some big shoes to fill, and I’m not really trying to step in his place because he [was] in Baltimore for way longer than I’ve been in Baltimore,” Ferguson said during rookie camp in early May. “I’m just coming in and getting my start on the field, doing whatever I can to help the team win.”
