Ravens OLB Tyus Bowser could be in store for a breakout year in 2018

Many Ravens fans were very excited when the Ravens took outside linebacker Tyus Bowser in the second-round of the 2017 NFL draft. Bowser displayed freakish athleticism in college.

The linebacker position was overcrowded for the Ravens in 2017, leaving Bowser and fellow rookie Tim Williams buried on the depth chart behind Terrell Suggs, Matthew Judon and Za’Darius Smith.

Bowser flashed his playmaking ability early on in the season, in Week 2, against the Cleveland Browns, with a sack and an interception. Rookie mistakes and bone-headed penalties landed him in John Harbaugh’s infamous dog house not soon after, however, so fans weren’t able to see their second-round draft pick on the field often.

Bowser finished the 2017 season with just 11 total tackles, but managed to notch three sacks and an interception with his very limited playing time. In his final season at Houston, he racked up 8.5 sacks, 47 total tackles, 12 tackles for loss, and a forced fumble while only playing in eight games.

Outside of first round pick Marlon Humphrey, the Ravens received little production from their 2017 draft class in comparison to 2016. I believe Bowser would have played well if given more snaps in his rookie season. This was an important year for his development and growth as an NFL player though. 2018 has to the potential to be special for him.

Bowser’s speed, strength, and athleticism are ideal for an outside linebacker, and with a year of learning how to adapt to the speed of the NFL, he has the potential to blow up, just like Judon did in his sophomore year.

Fans should be very excited to see what the future holds for Tyus Bowser and the rest of the Ravens 2017 draft class. As everyone saw with the 2013 class, sometimes it takes a few years to realize how many good players a draft class contains.