OTL: EDGE Competition Most Intriguing of Camp?

The calendars have turned over into July, which means Training Camp is only a few weeks away! The guys have been able to do a lot of good things off the field…

In 2023 we accomplished amazing things in our Community, can’t wait to see what 2024 will bring #OurTeamOurCommunity | @RavensCommunity pic.twitter.com/liOrGMGQg0

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) July 1, 2024

…and when players report back in later this month, it’ll be exciting to see what they can do on the field. Our guy Tanner George has been doing a great job breaking down the position groups with the State of the Roster series, and yesterday, he touched on the pass rush group.

State of the Ravens: Pass Rush

I want to give the EDGEs some extra special attention today, given the question marks still remaining at the position, and the importance of their unit helping the Ravens repeat the dominance of the 2023 campaign. Let’s talk about the current EDGEs, and the considerations as Camp gets set to begin. Your current EDGE group is:

Odafe Oweh, Kyle Van Noy, David Ojabo, Tavius Robinson, Adisa Isaac (rookie), Malik Hamm, Joe Evans (UDFA rookie).

From that list, Van Noy is really the only one I’d consider a proven commodity right now. Van Noy’s in-season acquisition paid off in spades for the Ravens last year, as he posted a career-high nine sacks while showing consistency and veteran leadership that the young EDGE group needed. Unfortunately, without Jadeveon Clowney flanking the other side, that young group will be under extra pressure to step up, bringing us to the two guys in that room with the most expectation on their shoulders: Oweh and Ojabo.

Podcast: @pcocor2112 and I discuss Odafe Oweh and Charlie Kolar. Will this be the season Oweh finishes more of his pressures with sacks and does it have to be for the #Ravens pass rush to be successful?https://t.co/8l122AAYc9#Ravensflock #NFL pic.twitter.com/UpxhTA1VKb

— Ken McKusick (@FilmstudyRavens) June 27, 2024

Oweh’s rookie season showed plenty of promise, as he was basically as advertised. His freakish athleticism led to 27 pressures, five sacks, and the conversation surrounding his college film continued: how does Oweh get home to convert pressures into more sacks? In the seasons since, he’s had just three sacks in 2022 and another five last season, but the pressure numbers have gone down since his rookie campaign. The team opted to pick up Oweh’s fifth-year option for 2025, meaning he should have some breathing room if he can put together a good season, but as he appears to be the primary EDGE opposite Van Noy, the pressure is on for him to have a big year.

Meanwhile, what little we’ve seen from a healthy Ojabo has looked impressive, and I’ll note that his individual workouts at Minicamp looked polished. That said, during his lengthy injury rehab, he hasn’t been able to do much of anything besides work on technique, so I hope that his recovery is finally starting to turn a corner. Coach Harbaugh indicated that he expects to see Ojabo back healthy sometime during Training Camp, so keep your eyes peeled for the volume of work #90 is getting.

Behind those guys, though, the spots are somewhat wide open, with some young players that have sky-high potential vying for playing time.

“A whole year under the playbook, a whole year with the guys, a whole year with offseason training. Looking forward to having a good Year 2, for sure.” @Taviusrobinson https://t.co/0hRtYIL8gB

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) June 28, 2024

If I had to pick a guy right now that was likely to feature as the fourth OLB in the Ravens’ rotation, I would probably pick Tavius Robinson. The second-year EDGE didn’t see a ton of work last year, but the snaps he got at the end of the regular season looked markedly better than his college film had shown. My biggest concern with him coming out of college was him utilizing his technique rather than relying on his size at 6’6” and around 260 pounds, and his footwork seems to have improved a great deal. I wouldn’t put it past Zach Orr to occasionally line Robinson up inside, but I can foresee him getting a lot of snaps in preseason as a pure EDGE to gauge his readiness.

If it needs to be a pass rush by committee, the Ravens do have Malik Hamm, who looked really impressive last preseason, but ended up redshirting and not getting snaps during the regular season. If the Baltimore native can put together another impressive preseason campaign, he might be able to earn playing time as the defense tries to solidify this group.

Now to the rookies: Adisa Isaac and Joe Evans. For me, Isaac is another boom-or-bust EDGE coming out of the class. He’s another pure athlete from a Big 10 school…

Adisa Isaac is a DE prospect in the 2024 draft class. He scored an unofficial 8.82 #RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 194 out of 1637 DE from 1987 to 2024.

Splits projectedhttps://t.co/W5PX7hZlOK pic.twitter.com/CzU48HOk5A

— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) March 1, 2024

…who posted by far his best stats of his college career in his senior season, but similarly to Ojabo and Oweh, he has a pretty raw game as he transitions to the NFL level. Isaac has missed time during his offseason activities with a hamstring injury, which we all hope is fully healed by Camp, but missing any time in your rookie camp has the capacity to hamper development. Here’s hoping he’ll get in a full Training Camp and the hamstring injury will be a footnote in an otherwise fantastic rookie year.

I can’t forget to give Joe Evans some love. If I had to pick a UDFA that I think cracks the final 53-man roster, it’s a coin flip between Evans and Beau Brade. Evans was a major factor on a stout Iowa Hawkeyes defense last season, posting 13.5 TFLs and 9.5 sacks. His college teammates have also touted his vocal leadership style and commitment to improving, and I think he could earn his way into a roster spot by the time September rolls around.

It’s important to consider that, until Training Camp, the Ravens didn’t have arguably their two most effective EDGEs on the roster yet, so maybe another acquisition happens to complete this personnel unit. Still, Baltimore rostered six OLBs on the starting 53 last season (if you count Malik Harrison sharing time at iLB) so the bottom half of that personnel unit’s chart is wide open.

It’ll make for likely the most intriguing battle of Camp, so stay with us as we break it down!

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