Ravens Safety Barely Misses Top Spot in Rankings

The Baltimore Ravens have two of the NFL's best safeties in Kyle Hamilton and Marcus Williams.

Nov 26, 2023; Inglewood, California, USA; Baltimore Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton (14) and safety Marcus Williams (32) block a pass intended for Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Jalen Guyton (15) during the first half at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports / Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Many teams would kill to have one member of the Baltimore Ravens' outstanding safety duo of Kyle Hamilton and Marcus Williams, let alone both of them.

Hamilton is the younger and flashier of the two, as he's coming off an All-Pro season in which he showed his nearly-unparalleled versatility. Still, Williams is an outstanding safety in his own right, even if he has struggled with injuries throughout his first two seasons in Baltimore.

With the sheer talent in the Ravens' defensive backfield, it's no surprise that both Hamilton and Williams ranked very highly on Pro Football Focus' top 32 safety ranking. Hamilton placed exceptionally high, coming in at No. 2 behind Tampa Bay Buccaneers star Antoine Winfield Jr.

"Hamilton was the NFL’s highest-graded safety as a rookie in 2022 (87.6), and he nearly replicated that in his second season, earning an 86.4 PFF overall grade," PFF writes.

"While Hamilton led all safeties in pass-rush grade and was the only player at the position to earn pass-rush and coverage grades over 90.0 in 2023, he could stand to improve in run defense, which keeps him out of this list's top spot."

Not to be outdone, Williams came in at No. 5 on the same ranking.

"After playing at least 999 snaps in all five of his seasons with the Saints, Williams has failed to log more than 800 snaps in either of his first two years in Baltimore," PFF writes. "But when he is on the field, he is still among the best safeties in the league, especially in coverage."

"Williams' 76.4 PFF coverage grade in 2023 ranked 16th among safeties, and he places sixth among 94 qualifying safeties in coverage grade (92.5) since entering the league in 2017."

The Ravens are blessed to have two of the best safeties in the entire league, but their depth behind those two is incredibly thin. As such, Hamilton and Williams staying healthy will be critical to Baltimore's defensive success this season and beyond.

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