Tag: Miles Boykin

Ravens’ midseason awards

With 8 games in the rearview mirror, we take the time to look over the first half of the Baltimore Ravens’ 2020 season to hand out awards

With their eighth game in the books, the Baltimore Ravens have made it to the midseason mark. While things can and likely will change over the final eight games, the beginning half of the season paints a good picture of where Baltimore’s 2020 season is headed. As we’ll do at the end of the season, we here at Ravens Wire wanted to hand out awards to commemorate the first half and shout out some excellent play as well as some not-so-great performances.

We got four writers together — Matthew Stevens, Neil Dutton, Alex Bente, and Kevin Oestreicher — to pick our winners and give a little reasoning for the choices. The following selections were all unanimous unless noted otherwise.

Let’s see who we all voted for the Ravens’ midseason awards.

Notre Dame in the NFL: Huge performances in big AFC game, Tate throws a pass and more

Plenty of former Notre Dame stars had big games for Pittsburgh (Claypool & Tuitt), Detroit (Okwara) and the Chargers (Tillery & Rochell).

Former Notre Dame stars had quite a week 8 in the NFL, highlighted by four former Irish alums making big plays in the huge AFC matchup between Pittsburgh and Baltimore. The Steelers left Baltimore undefeated, but that wasn’t due to the efforts from Miles Boykin. Find out which other former Notre Dame stars had big games this past week in the NFL.

John Harbaugh guarded about Dez Bryant playing: ‘When and if he’s ready to go, he’ll be out there’

Despite signing Dez Bryant to the practice squad, coach John Harbaugh didn’t want to put a timeframe on his return to games.

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Even though the Baltimore Ravens signed veteran wide receiver Dez Bryant this week, there are no guarantees he’ll actually see the field in any game. Baltimore appears to be taking a more cautious approach to Bryant’s status, signing him to the practice squad instead of the 53-man roster.

Many fans were excited when the team announced they added Bryant and it’s easy to see why. When thinking back to Bryant’s prime, it’s easy to get lost in the possibilities. He topped 1,200 receiving yards and 12 touchdown receptions in three separate years with the Dallas Cowboys, from 2012-2014. Even in his final two years in Dallas, Bryant was still a productive player, putting up a combined 119 receptions for 1,634 yards and 14 touchdowns.

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However, he’s no spring chicken anymore at nearly 32 years old. That would be enough to give pause by itself, but he’s been out of football following the 2017 season and is coming off an Achilles tear in 2018. It’s beyond rare for a player to come back after sitting out for nearly three years and be highly productive.

When asked about the team’s plan for Bryant moving forward, Harbaugh took a pretty conservative and guarded approach.

“We’ll just see where he’s at. He hasn’t played for how many years? So, we’ll see where he’s at. I mean, there’s a lot to learn,” Harbaugh said Wednesday. “He’s on our practice squad roster, which means he’s available to us. So, when and if he’s ready to go, he’ll be out there. It’s really that simple.”

This could just be Harbaugh’s gamesmanship coming out. He has had a tendency in the past to be very opaque about things like playing time and injuries at times. Giving a more firm timetable for Bryant’s return to the field could allow teams to better gameplan for him, taking away any competitive edge Baltimore might have there.

Or Harbaugh could be taking a more conservative approach to Bryant’s status because they don’t really know what they’ve got yet. Though the Ravens brought Bryant in for two separate workouts this season, signing him to the practice squad is an indication he’s not quite ready to play. That might be a matter of getting him acclimated with the offense and quarterback Lamar Jackson, or it could be the team wondering if he’s truly any better than guys like Miles Boykin and Willie Snead right now.

Unfortunately, Harbaugh didn’t make any of this clearer. So, we’ll all have to wait until he either makes his debut in a game or not.

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Report: Ravens to sign WR Dez Bryant to the practice squad pending workout

The Baltimore Ravens are bolstering their offense, adding veteran wide receiver Dez Bryant to the practice squad pending a workout.

Baltimore Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta must have had an extra-large coffee this morning. After pulling off a trade for Pro Bowl pass rusher Yannick Ngakoue, DeCosta and the Ravens are set to sign former All-Pro wide receiver Dez Bryant to the practice squad, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

Baltimore had brought Bryant in for a workout earlier this season but failed to sign him at that time. But with the Ravens’ offense struggling, ranking No. 31 in passing yards this season, it’s clear they needed the extra help. However, it’ll be interesting to see just how capable Bryant still is at nearly 32 years old.

In his prime, Bryant regularly topped 1,200 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns a season with the Dallas Cowboys. But Bryant hasn’t played a down of football in the regular season since 2017, his last year with the Cowboys. Coming off an Achilles injury in a very short stint with the New Orleans Saints, many are wondering just how much Bryant still has in the tank.

The Ravens don’t have much room to scoff, however. Beyond wide receiver Marquise Brown and tight end Mark Andrews, Baltimore isn’t getting much from their current roster of receivers. Second-year wide receiver Miles Boykin hasn’t lived up to his offseason hype. Bryant would be the ideal replacement for Boykin if healthy and still capable of beating defenders on the field.

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Communication, confidence, and chemistry issues holding Ravens WR Miles Boykin down this season

Despite having everything going for him this season, Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Miles Boykin hasn’t lived up to expectations in 2020.

There’s no dismissing it . . . The Baltimore Ravens’ offense has struggled mightily through the first six weeks of the 2020 season. While there are a ton of reasons for those struggles, some of the focus has been on Baltimore’s wide receivers not getting the job done. One such player, second-year wide receiver Miles Boykin, was heavily hyped this offseason but has disappointed.

Boykin was seemingly primed for a big year in the Ravens’ offense. Not only was reigning MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson returning for his third season, but Seth Roberts had also left in free agency which was expected to push Boykin into the starting lineup. At 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds with a 4.42-second 40-yard dash, Boykin had everything going in his favor for a big season. However, after six games, Boykin has failed to produce and seen his playing time steadily decline as a result. Targeted 19 times, Boykin has caught 11 passes for 122 yards and no touchdowns. The end result was Boykin saw below 50% of the offensive snaps in Week 6 for the first time this season.

On the field, Boykin has seemingly been so close to getting it done, yet so far away. Far too often this season, Boykin either isn’t expecting a pass to be thrown quite so early or he seemingly runs the wrong route, seeing the ball fall incomplete despite being open. According to wide receiver coach David Culley, some of Boykin’s failings stem from miscommunication issues with Jackson.

“First of all, when we’re in the huddle a couple of those happened when we were kind of in a two-minute or hurry-up situation, and Miles heard one thing and Lamar said another thing,” Culley said Tuesday. “He didn’t understand exactly what Lamar had said, because he was trying to get out.”

The Ravens have a chance to help clear up that issue during their bye this week. When asked about the miscommunications with Boykin, Jackson said they’ll spend some extra time working on their chemistry.

“It starts in practice. Just get together, work outside of that after practice, see what he likes, see what he doesn’t like – stuff like that – just to make his job a lot easier, and mine as well,” Jackson said Tuesday.

But it hasn’t just been bad hearing and a lack of chemistry with Jackson that has held Boykin back. As tends to happen with young wide receivers that have early struggles, they can get into their own head and become hyper-focused, which only makes their issues worse.

“What you have seen happen right now is that there have been some times when he puts a little bit of pressure on himself to want to really, really always do everything right,” Culley continued. “He’s really working on this. It’s just going out and reacting to what things happen and not worrying about being right or being wrong about things.”

Baltimore desperately needs Boykin and the other wide receivers to step up. Jackson has become far too reliant on wide receiver Marquise Brown and tight end Mark Andrews, to the point that defenses are publicly calling it out and game-planning against it. For the Ravens’ passing offense to reach the level we saw last season, getting Boykin’s confidence up and improving his chemistry with Jackson is imperative.

We’ll see how Baltimore looks in Week 8 against division rival, the Pittsburgh Steelers. But if the Ravens’ offense is going to get working again, look for Boykin to be at the forefront.

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Ravens’ punter Sam Koch is 7-for-7 passing in his career

Sam Koch, the Ravens’ punter, has completed all seven passes he has thrown in the NFL.

Johnny Hekker of the Los Angeles Rams gets all the punting love when it comes to having an arm as well as a leg. How about the Baltimore Ravens’ Sam Koch?

The Ravens’ punter is now 7-for-7 in his NFL career as a passer after connecting for a 15-yard pass on fourth-and-9 Sunday to Miles Boykin against the Washington Football Team.

The drive concluded with Lamar Jackson wizardry as he managed to find tight end Mark Andrews for a 25-yard TD.

Ravens highlights: P Sam Koch connects with WR Miles Boykin for 15 yards on fake punt

Baltimore Ravens punter Sam Koch has kept his perfect completion rate intact, hitting WR Miles Boykin for 15 yards to keep a drive alive.

Washington Football Team has made it a bit of a game in the first half, scoring a touchdown to bring it back to within a score of the Baltimore Ravens. But Baltimore got the job done on the next drive, with a little help from punter Sam Koch.

The Ravens looked to be stalled as they faced 4th-and-9 on the Football Team’s 43-yard line. The Ravens sent out their punt team, seemingly looking to pin Washington deep in their own territory. I did say seemingly, however. Koch actually unfurled a pass to wide receiver Miles Boykin, who registered a 15-yard reception for a first down, keeping the drive alive.

Koch is now a perfect 7-of-7 on pass attempts in his NFL career, gaining 82 yards in total.

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Report: Ravens cut WR Jaleel Scott

The Baltimore Ravens have cut wide receiver Jaleel Scott, marking the 2018 NFL Draft a bust at the position for the team.

The Baltimore Ravens have all but finalized their wide receiver corps for the 2020 NFL season. According to Aaron Kasinitz of Penn Live, the Ravens have cut wide receiver Jaleel Scott.

Scott was one of two wide receivers Baltimore selected in the 2018 NFL Draft, joining fifth-round pick Jordan Lasley. The Ravens parted ways with Lasley early last year at training camp after he failed to develop. Baltimore hoped the 6-foot-5 Scott would take a leap forward this year and they could find a way to keep him on the team. However, a hot-and-cold training camp that saw Scott improve his play on special teams but often fall short of making big receptions. With just one reception for six yards over two seasons in the NFL, anything less than a perfect training camp was likely going to end his tenure in Baltimore.

The 2018 NFL Draft was the first where the Ravens spent two picks at the position. The 2019 NFL Draft saw Baltimore select Marquise Brown and Miles Boykin, who are both in line for massive starting roles this year. The Ravens added Devin Duvernay and James Proche in the 2020 NFL Draft and saw both play well throughout training camp.

With five wide receiver spots already sorted and Chris Moore expected to return soon from a broken finger, there simply wasn’t any room for Scott to make the Ravens’ 53-man roster.

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ESPN updates Position U’s, Find out where Notre Dame landed

The Irish place very well inside the updated rankings, but not quite where you would expect them to.

Now that NFL training camps have started back up, we are all getting a look at some teams roster constructions. With that, ESPN has updated their Position U rankings after gathering data from their Sports and Information group along with numbers from Pro Football Reference.

The Irish have placed in their rankings, although not in the top spot for any positions. Notre Dame placed 9th in Wide Receivers, 5th in Tight Ends and 7th in Offensive Line groups. It might seem like the analysts at ESPN got some of the rankings wrong, especially at tight end, but they do give some sound reasoning.

They did not mention much at ball regarding the production of former Irish wide receivers, but the group is very solid. Golden Tate, Will Fuller, Equanimeous St. Brown, Miles Boykin and Chase Claypool make up a fantastic collection of Notre Dame alumni receivers. Claypool has been shown very well so far and that ranking could be on the rise from 9th.

This next group, the tight ends, seems a bit low given the production from the group has been top-notch. The top spot went to Miami, the U, who boasts an quite a lot of quality players, as they have had 10 drafted in the last 20 years, with half of them going in the first round. They note that the Irish have “Cole Kmet was the first tight end taken in this years draft, and the Irish have had a tight end selected for three straight years.” Alize Mack and Durham Smythe were those two other players. As we know the position is stacked right now with tons of talent, but it’s hard to argue with Miami production the last 20 years. All time is a different conversation, however.

The offensive line helped the Irish get to 7th, but that ranking also could be on the move upwards as ESPN ranked them as who’s next. “There’s a strong case to be made that Notre Dame has produced the NFL best current tackle (Ronnie Stanley) and guard (Quenton Nelson) over the past five drafts. Add in Pro-Bowler Zach Martin, and NFL starters Nick Martin and Mike McGlinchey, and what the Irish might lack in quantity, they more than make up for in quality.”

The Irish didn’t make the defensive line group’s rankings but the did make their who’s missing. ESPN noted that “the Irish failed to produce a true impact player at the next level.” This is an area where an improvement is drastically needed.

As a whole collective group, the Irish did great inside the updated Positional U rankings. The upside is there for movement in the future and could very well be happening.

The Ravens have the roster depth for serious Super Bowl LV run

The Baltimore Ravens have plenty of talent on their roster, including a lot of depth. But is it enough for them to roll into Super Bowl LV?

The Baltimore Ravens have established themselves as one of the best franchises in the NFL, holding a 118-74 record since coach John Harbaugh took over in 2008. Part of the reason they’re able to stay so competitive every year is due to great roster management, especially with their depth. Baltimore often stacks strength on top of strength at key positions. That gives them the necessary depth to withstand an injury during the season and develop talent to eventually replace departed free agents.

And as they enter the 2020 season as one of the favorites to win Super Bowl LV, it’s the team’s depth that will propel them to the promised land yet again.

It’s certainly been a wild offseason in the NFL, with the coronavirus pandemic causing the league to go digital for minicamps, reduce roster sizes in training camp, and completely cancel preseason games. With football looking more and more likely to happen in 2020 and Baltimore looking the part of a serious Super Bowl contender, the Ravens will once again be relying on their deep roster to carry them far. The big question is if it’s deep enough to get them all the way to Super Bowl LV.

While every position on an NFL roster is important, there are a few that carry a little more weight. Quarterback is the top position on the field at any given time and Baltimore is in great shape with reigning MVP Lamar Jackson under center. But having a proven backup in Robert Griffin III is perhaps the team’s greatest asset. Though there’s really no comparing that talent levels of Jackson and Griffin, they have similar skill sets and can run the same offense. Griffin, a former Offensive Rookie of the Year, shouldn’t be discounted as a starter-quality quarterback either thanks to his experience, leadership, and still impressive physical abilities.

For an offense that is as run-heavy as the Ravens’, significant depth along the interior of the offensive line is a must-have. Though all the talk this offseason has been about right guard Marshal Yanda retiring, the fact the team will have so many competing for his job is a testament to how well they’ve stockpiled talent on the offensive line. Bradley Bozeman, Ben Powers, D.J. Fluker, Ben Bredeson, and Tyre Phillips are all guards in line for a starting job this offseason, giving the Ravens plenty of options at the top of the depth chart and in case of injuries.

But folks shouldn’t forget about the guys actually carrying the football. If anything, Baltimore actually has too much talent at running back this year. After breaking a 41-year old single-season rushing record last year with Mark Ingram, Gus Edwards, and Justice Hill alongside Jackson; the Ravens added another star player to the mix, taking Ohio State’s J.K. Dobbins in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft. That brings the total to four capable running backs on the roster, with at least two proving they’re starter-caliber guys already.

Wide receiver has been the bane of Baltimore’s offense for decades, often barely having enough quality players to make the 53-man roster. For the first time in seemingly forever, the Ravens actually have real competition and promise at the position. Willie Snead is the most experienced option on the depth chart and has proven himself as a capable slot receiver, both in New Orleans and Baltimore. Marquise Brown and Miles Boykin are expected to take big leaps in their second seasons. Rookies Devin Duvernay and James Proche are being looked at as immediate impact players. That’s before you get to the likes of Chris Moore, who has flashed with the team previously at wide receiver and as a return specialist.

The defense has been the strength of Baltimore since its inception in 1996 and things aren’t much different in 2020.

The Ravens invested heavily in their defensive line this offseason. Not only did they bring in star players like Calais Campbell and Derek Wolfe to bolster the unit, but they also re-signing key contributors in Jihad Ward and Justin Ellis. When added to recent draft picks Justin Madubuike and Broderick Washington Jr., it’s a group that has already had a surprising cut to get to the 80-man roster limit of training camp.

Baltimore’s secondary is easily the deepest unit on the team and arguably the deepest in the entire NFL. The Ravens legitimately have four starters at cornerback after making a move for Marcus Peters at the trade deadline last year. Peters is added to Marlon Humphrey and Jimmy Smith as outside cornerbacks with slot cornerback Tavon Young healthy again this year. Iman Marshall and Anthony Averett are great depth players with the potential to grow into move over time as well.

Baltimore is well situated at safety too with Chuck Clark earning a three-year contract extension after the Ravens signed Earl Thomas last offseason. But behind the starters, DeShon Elliott has looked impressive the last two offseasons (though he’s ended up on injured reserve both years) and Anthony Levine is a workhorse who does just about everything on defense. Geno Stone and Nigel Warrior are the newest additions to the unit and have plenty of promise for future glory as well.

Though losing a talented playmaker and franchise leader like quarterback Lamar Jackson for an entire season would be a devastating blow to this team’s chances this year, Baltimore is set up to withstand the bumps and bruises that come with an NFL season better than most. The Ravens made sure to address key positions in the offseason and continued to build up their depth, making them one of the teams most suited for a run at the Lombardi Trophy.