With the Ravens conducting their 10th full-team workout of training camp on Thursday afternoon, I’ve offered a dozen thoughts, each in 50 words or less:
1. The offensive line remains the preseason’s most prominent story with Roger Rosengarten receiving his longest first-team look to date as the rookie split reps with Patrick Mekari at right tackle. John Harbaugh said, “Roger has been doing well. … We’ll just keep working through that and let it play out.”
2. The physicality and heat was dialed up with the special-teams portion of practice conducted indoors and practice wrapping a little early. Such days are particularly challenging for the offensive line, so we saw some rotating to account for that. This was the fifth padded practice over the last seven days.
3. With Daniel Faalele laboring, there was an opening for Ben Cleveland to see some starter reps, but he “got his head banged a little bit” and left to be evaluated, per Harbaugh. It’s a tough development for someone who really needs to start making a push for a starting job.
4. The defensive play of the day was an improbable Kyle Hamilton interception on a Lamar Jackson jump ball that Mark Andrews couldn’t corral going to the ground. Hamilton grabbed a fortunate carom, but it’s really entertaining watching him compete with Andrews and Isaiah Likely, something few others can do consistently.
5. An honorable mention goes to Malik Harrison, who made a leaping interception of a Josh Johnson pass in a full-team period. Harrison also scooped up a Rasheen Ali fumble and drew praise from Harbaugh, who compared his versatility at linebacker to what Mekari does for the offensive line.
8
6. The offensive play of the day was a Jackson touchdown pass to Tylan Wallace, who showed excellent concentration as Marcus Williams and Jalyn Armour-Davis converged on a tight-window throw. Wallace’s path to an offensive role is difficult, so that was the kind of splash play that helps his case.
7. Rashod Bateman practiced fully after being limited Wednesday and was frequently targeted by Jackson with mixed results that included a pretty deep ball falling incomplete down the sideline. Brandon Stephens had good coverage, but it’s a contested catch Baltimore needs Bateman to make. That connection remains a work in progress.
8. Kyle Van Noy showed off a heck of a spin move to blow past Mekari and pressure the pocket during a full-team period. The 33-year-old spoke in the spring about embracing the opportunity to focus exclusively on being an edge rusher, and this defense needs another strong season from him.
9. Though Derrick Henry figures to carry the biggest workload a Ravens back has handled in years, Harbaugh labeled Justice Hill a “starting-[caliber] back” after his career season. The Ravens need Hill to be productive and stay healthy, especially with Keaton Mitchell still months away from a potential return.
10. Wallace’s touchdown aside, Armour-Davis continues to have a strong start to camp with sticky coverage and plenty of plays on the football. He shows the potential to be a good depth piece if he can stay on the field. Especially with T.J. Tampa sidelined, Armour-Davis has improved his standing.
11. With the unfortunate Malik Hamm ACL injury and the extended absence of Adisa Isaac, now’s the time for Tavius Robinson and David Ojabo to distinguish themselves in the edge defender rotation. Ojabo still looks unsure of himself at times, so he just needs to keep stacking practices to continue developing.
12. The moment Chicago announced Caleb Williams wouldn’t play in the Hall of Fame Game eliminated any interest I had in watching. The NFL should reimagine preseason games to include a controlled scrimmage for starters — what you see in joint practices — before playing a truncated game for reserves and young players.
