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Though the Baltimore Ravens sit at 2-0, they now have a big question to answer ahead of a crucial matchup against the also undefeated Kansas City Chiefs next week. With it believed cornerback Tavon Young suffered a season-ending knee injury against the Houston Texans, Baltimore’s defense will clearly be impacted moving forward.
Young was having a pretty great start to his 2020 campaign, helping Baltimore completely shut down quarterback Baker Mayfield and the Cleveland Browns’ explosive offense last week. The Ravens’ defense was off to a good start against Houston before Young went down in the first quarter. Prior to Young’s departure, Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson had gone 3-of-4 for 24 yards and was heading towards two short drives without points.
Without Young in the lineup, Baltimore turned to cornerbacks Jimmy Smith and Anthony Averett to fill the void. Defensive coordinator Don Martindale moved the cornerbacks around trying to find an effective matchup but it was an area of the field Watson focused on as evidenced by his throw chart from Next Gen Stats.
With only five cornerbacks on the 53-man roster entering this game, it’s clear Baltimore is going to have to add at least one player to the depth chart just to have enough cornerbacks for a game. But moving forward, it’ll be interesting to see exactly how Martindale and the Ravens more permanently fill Young’s spot this season.
Last year with Young on injured reserve with a neck injury, the job fell to Marlon Humphrey. Though Humphrey earned a Pro Bowl nomination on the back of his performance, he was playing out of position and it put more strain on the outside cornerbacks to cover the difference while also handcuffing one of their best defensive players by forcing him into an unfamiliar role. While Martindale could once again move Humphrey inside and put Smith outside, it might be time for Baltimore to really see what they’ve got in Averett.
This is Averett’s third year in the league, so he should have the Ravens’ defensive scheme pretty well figured out by now. Averett is also fast enough for the job, running a 4.36-second 40-yard dash at the 2018 NFL Scouting Combine. Though he’s been underwhelming over the last two years, a trial-by-fire approach with some safety and linebacker help might just be the remedy to getting Averett valuable in-game experience. More importantly, it allows Baltimore to see if Averett is capable of being a starter-quality cornerback for the future, something they’ll have to seriously contemplate with Young likely heading to injured reserve for his third season out of five years in the league.
Few NFL teams have a Pro Bowl cornerback and the Ravens are lucky enough to have two in Humphrey and Marcus Peters. While Averett might not be the perfect answer for Young’s absence, Baltimore has enough talent to make up the difference there.
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