Breaking Down Kyle Hamilton's Fit With The Baltimore Ravens

Irish Breakdown looks at how Kyle Hamilton fits into the Baltimore Ravens defense

With the 14th overall selection in the 2022 NFL Draft, the Baltimore Ravens selected former Notre Dame All-American safety Kyle Hamilton. That pick ended the slide for 6-4, 220-pound Hamilton, who was largely projected to go somewhere in the top ten but suffered a bit of a slide. 

It can, however, be argued that that slide put the former Irish great into about as good a situation as you can hope for - for the most part. With the rookie pay scale, the way it is now, the drop-off from pick No. 10 to No. 14 isn’t as much as you may imagine either. According to Spotrac, the difference is right around four million dollars total on the initial contract, which may sound like a lot but for the NFL, it’s a very small difference. 

The Baltimore Ravens traditionally were about as smart of a decision-making team under former General Manager Ozzie Newsome. They made a living off of not doing too much, and letting good football players fall to them. That continues under new General Manager Eric DeCosta. The value to grab Hamilton at that slot is tremendous. 

For Hamilton, the situation is even better from a full-scope perspective of the franchise. There aren’t many organizations that are more consistent than the Ravens, producing proven winners and a track record for success. 

The biggest question mark for the Hamilton fit is just how the Ravens plan to deploy the talented defender. The team broke bank this off-season, signing former New Orleans Saints free safety Marcus Williams to a five-year, $70 million deal. The initial thought is the meshing of styles from Hamilton to Williams is a fantastic proposition, which it is. 

What’s the issue? The Ravens already have another good safety on the roster in Chuck Clark, who is also signed through the 2024 season. Does this move potentially make Clark dispensable? It’s very possible. 

However, for now, there does seem to be a slight logjam at the position. The exception would be the thought that the Ravens might want to employ more three safety alignments, allowing Hamilton to function more in a rover role, which does fit his freelancing style well. 

The other thought is perhaps the Ravens would like to potentially use him more on the second level of the defense, similarly to how the Carolina Panthers have used Jeremy Chinn in their defense. Hybrid alignments, tapping into the unique skill set of Hamilton, does seem to be the most intriguing proposition. 

Until we tangibly see it, however, it is purely speculation. For the Ravens, you got the best player on the board without question. For Hamilton, he got a franchise that is about as consistent as you will find from the top down. The fit is something that remains to be seen at this moment. This is either a push towards the ever-evolving sub-package world of the NFL - or simply a player too good to pass up. How Hamilton fits schematically is a question that we will still need to see answers to.

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