OTL: Iron Sharpens Iron

Thursday was an action-packed day at Ravens Training Camp. There is a lot to say about what we have seen so far in Camp, but today we will narrow it down to three main points.

The point is that these full-team drills feature perhaps the best defensive talent that Lamar Jackson has had to face in practice since he’s been here:

First two INTs of camp: Trenton Simpson picked off a Lamar Jackson pass that hit off Isaiah Likely’s hands. Jackson ripped off his helmet in anger. And UDFA Reuben Lowery, who is around the ball a lot, stepped in front of Anthony Miller and intercepted a Devin Leary throw.

— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiec) July 24, 2025

It was a tough day as Lamar threw two picks, but it’s time to get excited about defense in Baltimore again. Consider this: if you face a fearsome defense in practice every day, it will sharpen your skills as an offensive player and, in turn, make you better. So that, when you do make mistakes, you can learn and come back better than ever. You throw a few picks against a good defense? Fine, come back, get better, and make plays. “Iron sharpens iron.”

It is also a two-way street, and the same can be said about the defense. The offensive talent will ultimately make them better.

Talent can only get you so far; if the team wants to win a Super Bowl, they will also need the right attitude.

That brings us to our second point of the day: this defense has a killer identity:

Devontez Walker beat Jaire Alexander on a deep route in one on ones. The two matched up again and Alexander had the pass breakup.
Neither Andrews nor Alexander appeared pleased that the one on one session ended just as they were about to match up. They wanted a go at it.

— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiec) July 24, 2025

Jaire and Andrews were upset that practice ended before they got to face each other. Yes, this is what I am talking about when I said we need a killer identity. Jaire Alexander has brought that confidence and swag along with this mentality, and that is infectious. That type of gamer attitude will carry over to the offense, and I adore how Mark Andrews was upset he didn’t get to face Jaire as well. I say again: iron sharpens iron. The defense will make the offense better, and vice versa, which will help the Ravens improve mentally.

Finally, I want to highlight one player who I think will make splash plays this season:

Ravens first-round rookie Malaki Starks is having a nice day. Broke up a pass to Charlie Kolar and then he picked off a Lamar Jackson overthrow.

— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiec) July 24, 2025

We had a bit of controversy as a specific former highly paid free safety, Marcus Williams, who was terrible last year, took some shots at the Ravens in an interview. That interview shone a light on how bad that safety group was in 2024. Basically, I’m thrilled that Malaki Starks is a Raven. As the draft coverage went on, readers of my pieces knew how much I loved Starks, and he was my dream pick. Being reminded of the early-2024 Williams experience, and with Starks impressing, we can dream on big improvements in 2025, while crossing our fingers that everyone stays healthy.

The first couple days of camp have been a lot of fun, in large part due to the seemingly shifted mentality that’s coming through both in how players are talking to the media, and what they’re doing on the fields.

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