Ravens Swimming In Young Talent

The Baltimore Ravens have an embarrassment of riches in terms of young talent to build around.

Oct 1, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Baltimore Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton (14) runs after intercepting a pass in the fourth quarter against the Cleveland Browns at Cleveland Browns Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports / David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

The Baltimore Ravens are in a situation that most other NFL teams would kill to be in. Not only do they have one of the most talented rosters in the league, but most of their key players are young and still have room to grow.

Naturally, in a ranking of every team's young talent, specifically limited to players under 25. the Ravens were going to place very highly. ESPN's Aaron Schatz used varied criteria to make his rankings, and ultimately placed Baltimore at No. 3 behind only the Houston Texans and Detroit Lions.

Schatz also listed each team's "blue-chip players," which unsurprisingly included safety Kyle Hamilton, center Tyler Linderbaum and receiver Zay Flowers for Baltimore.

"First-team All-Pro Hamilton leads the Ravens' young talent as one of the most valuable defensive players in the NFL. He ranked first in success rate and fifth in coverage DVOA among safeties last season and is just 23 years old," Schatz writes. "Linderbaum made his first Pro Bowl last season after his second NFL season. He posted the fifth-best pass block win rate (96.4%) and is 24. The Ravens' receiving corp is also youthful. Flowers, who led the team with 858 receiving yards, is 23; Rashod Bateman, who had 367 yards, is 24 years old."

Those three players are stars in the making, or already a star in Hamilton's case, that's just scratching the surface of Baltimore's youth movement. There are several other young players who are waiting to break out, which would give the Ravens' even more cost-control talent than they already have.

"The Ravens will get even more value from young talent if certain young players can step into major roles this season," Schatz writes. "Coach John Harbaugh is high on 24-year-old edge rusher David Ojabo, who is finally healthy after battling ankle and knee injuries last season. Trenton Simpson will move into the starting lineup at linebacker next to Roquan Smith and is 23. And running back Keaton Mitchell had one of the best run DVOA ratings ever in limited time last season. He's 22 and should return from a torn ACL at midseason."

Then there's Baltimore's rookie class, which looks ready to make noise right away. Nate Wiggins (cornerback, first round), Roger Rosengarten (offensive tackle, second round) and Devontez Walker (receiver, fourth round) look ready to take on big roles as rookies, which would just be even more good news for the Ravens.

Of course, the Ravens have to win a Super Bowl soon, otherwise it will feel like all their young talent went to waste.

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