Ravens News 6/7: Practice report, attendance and more

Practice Report 6/6: Safety DeShon Elliott Makes the Best Play of OTAs - Ryan Mink

Undrafted rookie wide receiver Jaylen Smith looked like he was open for a long touchdown from Robert Griffin III when Elliott came out of nowhere. Without making any contact, Elliott laid out to make a diving interception right on the sideline, showing incredible range from the middle of the field.

“He covers a lot of ground. You saw it on that play,” Head Coach John Harbaugh said. “Knows where he is, plays really fast, works really hard. He’s going to make a mark.”

Third-round rookie outside linebacker Jaylon Ferguson flashed his run-stopping potential by bursting into the backfield on one play for what would have been a tackle for loss.

Outside linebacker Tyus Bowser flashed some, making a nice play in coverage to knock down a pass and coming up the middle for what would have been a sack.

Baltimore Ravens OTAs practice notes: Second-year safety shines, Hayden Hurst absent and more - Aaron Kasinitz

Thirteen Ravens missed Thursday’s voluntary practice, including some healthy veterans and a handful of injured players. Here’s the list, with known injuries noted:

WR Marquise Brown (foot), WR Seth Roberts, TE Hayden Hurst (hamstring), G Alex Lewis (shoulder), G Marshal Yanda, CB Jimmy Smith, CB Cyrus Jones, S Tony Jefferson (ankle), S Earl Thomas, CB Marlon Humphrey, OLB Pernell McPhee, OLB Matthew Judon, DT Michael Pierce

Several Ravens returned to the practice field Thursday after missing last week’s open session, including running back Kenneth Dixon, wide receiver Miles Boykin and defensive tackle Gerald Willis.

Fourth-round rookie cornerback Iman Marshall broke up several passes near the goal line, using his length to knock balls away from wide receivers.

Ravens Defense Ready To Defend No. 1 Ranking Despite Key Losses - Todd Karpovich

“We have the ‘next man up’ mentality. Whoever’s filling those spots, we believe in them wholeheartedly,” defensive tackle Brandon Williams said.

“With this new defense coming in, with the defense from last year, and ‘Wink’ [defensive coordinator Don Martindale] in his second year, it’s a little bit smoother,” Williams said. “We’re just kind of bringing the younger guys along to make sure they know what to do. For the older guys, we’re just sharpening our tools to make sure we’re ready for the season.”

“We want to be No. 1,” [Tavon] Young said. “We want to be the best in the league, and that’s always the goal. If we’re not No. 1, we’re not satisfied. We have a lot of players who can play, start anywhere, so the thing is just to keep the depth and just keep rotating.”

The NFL’s 11 best outside cornerbacks - Doug Farrar

10. Marlon Humphrey, Baltimore Ravens

The Ravens have had a top-3 pass defense in each of the last two seasons, and it’s no coincidence that Humphrey joined the squad in 2017 as the team’s first-round pick out of Alabama. Entering a highly complex system, Humphrey didn’t miss a beat—he’s allowed fewer than half the passes thrown to him to be completed in his two NFL seasons, and his opponent passer rating of 65.0 in combined seasons is among the NFL’s best.

4. Brandon Carr, Baltimore Ravens

Perhaps the most underrated player on this list. Carr had a really rough time in coverage his last few seasons with the Cowboys, but his two seasons in Baltimore have been a revelation. In 2017, he allowed 56% of his 84 targets to be caught for an opponent passer rating of 69.1, and in 2018, he allowed 47 catches on 83 targets for a catch rate of 56.6%, 625 yards, no touchdowns, two interceptions, and an opponent passer rating of 70.6.