By admin 
BALTIMORE – Remember how the Ravens’ 2025 season ended? No, not the kick.
What stands out most is that then-42-year-old quarterback Aaron Rodgers completed 31 of 47 passes for 294 yards, including a 26-yard touchdown strike to Calvin Austin III with 55 seconds left to give the Steelers the lead in a 26-24 win that sealed the AFC North title and a trip to the postseason.
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It will always be remembered as the Tyler Loop game because he missed a 42-yard field goal attempt as time expired, but the Ravens’ secondary was painful that night, as it was all season. They couldn’t cover and at times looked lost on the back end. The worst part is that last year started and ended on the same sour note.
Well, thank goodness for new coach Jesse Minter, who will call the Ravens’ defensive signals this season, along with defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver and pass game coordinator/secondary coach Mike Mickens.
The Ravens’ defense has to be better than a year ago.
Right?
In 2025, the Ravens were ranked 30th in pass defense, allowing 259 yards per game. The secondary was a big reason Baltimore squandered so many second-half leads under former coach John Harbaugh.
But with Minter and the additions of several new assistants, the Ravens should get better this season. In three preseason games, the team allowed only 13 total points, the fewest in a single preseason since the league shortened the schedule in 2021.
The pass rush isn’t a major concern. It will improve with the additions of outside linebacker Trey Hendrickson and tackle Calais Campbell and the potential return of tackle Nnamdi Madubuike from a neck injury. Second-year pass rusher Mike Green could play a pivotal role, as could fourth-year outside linebacker Tavius Robinson.
It really comes down to the secondary.
Again.
A year ago, former Ravens assistant and defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano was expected to put a stamp of approval on the secondary, but that never materialized. Now, it’s Minter, Weaver and Mickens’ turn to upgrade that unit.
“I think football is always about technique,” Mickens said. “We are always going to have great schemes. We’re always going to put you in great positions, but your technique takes over when talent is equal. So, there’s just the little details that we try to drill down every day and be the best at – whether we’re installing, whether we’re playing technique, fundamentals.”
It sounds good. But remember, most players do well in the first year with a new coach because they want to prove their struggles were the previous coach’s fault.
A few questions remain.
First of all, veteran cornerback Marlon Humphrey is still on the outside. Maybe Minter or Weaver didn’t look at last year’s game film, because speedy outside receivers such as Cincinnati’s Ja’Marr Chase and Pittsburgh’s DK Metcalf embarrassed him on the outside. Maybe Humphrey had an injury we didn’t know about, or he underwent some type of offseason training transformation, but that’s not a good matchup.
The Ravens have a lot of confidence in Humphrey, and they should have. He is one of the best tacklers on the team and led the team in interceptions last season with four. He can be insufferable at times, but so are a lot of prima donna receivers.
Is he worth the risk?
The Ravens still have a lot of confidence in him.
“Well, [Humphrey] is in the last year of his deal,” general manager Eric DeCosta said of Humphrey’s $19.5 million contract. “I would say that he has been a historic Raven in many ways – multi-time All-Pro, highly competitive, Pro Bowler, a leader here. I think he is going to have a great year. [He] had a great year a couple years ago. [He] did not have his best year – he would say that, I think he has said it – [he] did not have a great year last year.
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“I feel confident he is going to rebound and have a great year this year. That is what that decision is about. I think corners are hard to find. Veteran corners who have played at very high levels are hard to find, and we are excited to see him play this year.”
I like third-year player Nate Wiggins as the shutdown corner. Maybe when the Ravens play Cincinnati in Week 7 or the Steelers in Week 15 in Pittsburgh, they might switch, with Wiggins matching up against Chase and Metcalf.
“It is a new defense, so everybody has to learn,” Wiggins said. “We have to be on the same page. When all of us are on the same page, it looks scary. So, everybody is excited for what we have coming this year.”
The Ravens are like most defensive teams in the NFL. Because it is a pass-happy league, most teams play with five defensive backs. The Ravens are fortunate because they have three safeties who can play almost anywhere, but it will be interesting to see whether Kyle Hamilton can play as an outside linebacker. At times, he disappeared from games last season because he wore down taking on tight ends or fullbacks so often.
The Ravens also have second-year safety Malaki Starks and veteran Jaylinn Hawkins, who played for the Super Bowl runner-up New England Patriots last season. Hawkins could be calling out plays as the last player on the back end of the defense.
Meanwhile, Hamilton said Starks could become the best safety tandem in the NFL.
“Just the confidence – confidence schematically in what we are trying to do, what we are trying to accomplish from a coverage standpoint, because the kid’s traits are truly like, you can play all over the place,” Weaver said of Starks. “He played a ton of nickel in college; you can do that with him now. He can be on one hash and make a play on the other side of the field. His speed, his intellect, his playmaking ability – we expect that to show.
“I think your rookie year, just when you are trying to learn it all, you can have a little bit of paralysis through analysis, which in this league, it is milliseconds that are going to stop you from making that play. We expect him to be closer to the ball and then ultimately make those plays this year.”
Hawkins agreed that playing five defensive backs might be a trend.
“I am pretty sure [that’s the trend], [but] to each his own. [With different] defensive coordinators, whatever system you are in, I feel like that is the trend,” he said. “You have to be versatile. The game is evolving. There are a lot of things that offenses have started doing that they were not doing a couple years ago. So, you have to be able to do multiple things.”
It will be interesting to watch this secondary operate Sunday at Indianapolis. The first unit hasn’t been on the field for the preseason. We’ve seen defensive backs T.J. Tampa Jr., Keyon Martin and Keondre Jackson, but not the top players such as Hawkins, Starks, Wiggins, Hamilton or Humphrey.
There have been a lot of different situations in practice in which the Ravens have played some zone, some man-to-man and blitzed players off the edge, including Hamilton. But it’s safe to assume this defense has to be better than it was a year ago.
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Right?
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This story was originally published September 9, 2026 at 2:42 AM.