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Brent Urban, Za'darius Smith will help Ravens design more stunts

Pittsburgh Steelers v Baltimore Ravens Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images

Pernell McPhee is one of the only Ravens to break out, leave in free agency, and continue his success. One of the few linebackers Baltimore may regret not paying. It is not often that an inside pass-rusher can be developed to the dominant level McPhee reached in 2014.

Za'Darius Smith was drafted to become a carbon copy of McPhee. In his third year in the league, he is finally showing more explosiveness and is playing at an overall faster pace.

Brent Urban was drafted to become the team's five technique, a position which often - like in the case of J.J Watt and Calais Campbell - sees the player at the position become the team's main inside pass rusher. Urban has had a terrific pre-season and with the rise of the two aforementioned players and a secondary that allows the Ravens to play man-to-man coverage, five man rushes featuring twists and stunts could become a feature of the Ravens defense.

Smith and Urban both boast good change of direction skills when compared to Timmy Jernigan, who was the designated lineman in pass-rush situations last year. Jernigan could not maintain his speed when turning the corner, which impacted the creativity and the overall execution of stunts employed by Dean Pees. Urban's and Smith's mere presence will allow Pees to be more creative.