What Are The Ravens Options At Cornerback?

As soon as the news that Baltimore Ravens cornerback Lardarius Webb woud be lost for the season with a devastating ACL injury, fans began the discussion as to how the team's depth chart would pan out with the best cover corner no longer on the field. Webb had not given up a passing touchdown to the guy he was covering since prior to the 2011 season.

Leaving him one-on-one with his opponent made it a lot easier to swing coverage from the safeties to the other corners, leaving Webb "on an island" in single coverage. The team felt confident he could do it and he usually did just that, which is part of the reason opposing quarterbacks targeted the man that other CB Cary Williams was covering. That, in turn, led to opponents forcing the ball into coverage, which has resulted in Williams having three interceptions in the past three games.

Now the team must move on from Webb and while the first two slots on the depth chart will obviously go to Williams and Jimmy Smith, the bigger question becomes the remainder of the Ravens depth chart in the secondary. Chykie Brown got most of the playing time in Webb's absence the remainder of the game against the Dallas Cowboys and appears to have the inside angle on the third cornerback position.

Corey Graham was originally signed for his skills on Special Teams, but might be pressed into action as the team's nickel or dime defensive back. Other than Brown and Graham, the only other cornerback on the current roster is rookie Asa Jackson, who has not been on the active game roster yet this season.

the chance remains that the Ravens might look on the free agent market or another team's Practice Squad to see what else is out there, but for now, the mantra continues, "Next Man Up."