Reconstructing the Baltimore Secondary: 5 Burning Questions

“The standard has not been met and upheld. We need to fix that.” – Kyle Hamilton

New head coach Jesse Minter – a former Baltimore assistant and defensive backs coach – has a monumental task to reshape the Ravens. The facelift will start with a defense and secondary that hasn’t looked anything like its predecessors, which include units that Minter coached from 2017-2020.

In 2025, the Ravens ranked 30th in passing yards allowed per game. This defensive backfield has been downright awful despite the volume of premium draft capital that’s been invested. The DB room boasts four former first round picks. All homegrown. It’s a room that General Manager Eric DeCosta has prioritized over other position groups and they haven’t delivered.

Looking beyond the numbers, the eye test was equally painful to endure. Week after week, Baltimore defenders were out of position, giving up “free space” yards. Former defensive coordinator Zachary Orr had the corners playing soft coverage in high leverage situations. With the DBs sometimes 10 yards off the line, it was pitch-and-catch for most quarterbacks.

Combine the softer coverage approach with a predictable and ineffective pass rush scheme, confusion of the play-calls, inconsistent technique, and poor execution, and it’s no wonder the secondary was a constant punching bag.

As a secondary mastermind, Minter is up for the rebuilding job. With the Chargers, Minter’s units ranked top ten in most critical categories: yards, third down, and completion percentage allowed. And it’s not as if he had the same talent to pull from. Safety Derwin James is one of the best in the game. But his starting corners – Tarheeb Still and Cam Hart – are former (2024) fifth-round picks. Minter also resurrected former Raven Tony Jefferson’s career.

For Minter, talent is only part of the equation. He needs defensive backs who are alignment and assignment sound, versatile, physical, and mirror their eyes with their feet.

Technique regressed under the previous regime. In an interview on the Vault, former Raven great Rod Woodson detailed how Marlon Humphrey’s footwork changed. He was asked to play more on the low hip, which exposed him to deep balls. And given that Humphrey’s speed isn’t what it once was, the result was those deep balls going over his head.

Hall of Fame CB Rod Woodson on Marlon Humphrey’s future and a conscious Ravens defensive coaching decision that was made in 2025:

“I know this past year they went back to the old school way of playing him on the low hip, which I’m not a fan of. We got quite a few deep balls… pic.twitter.com/BXOCSlieIX

— Bobby Trosset (@bobbytrosset) February 9, 2026

These are just a few cleanup opportunities for Minter and his staff. Moreover, beyond hand placement and footwork technique, Minter will create a symbiotic relationship between the front and the back end to tighten the defensive coverage and open up playmaking opportunities.

Here are five important questions to consider when you evaluate the Minter-led secondary in 2026.

1. How will Minter run his coverages and pre-snap disguise?

One of the biggest shifts that we’ll see from the Baltimore defense in 2026 is a primary convergence to zone coverage combinations. The Chargers ran zone coverage 80% of the time in 2026 (Next Gen Stats). Specifically, they were in a lot of two-high, split safety looks (nearly 50% of the time). Different combinations came from Cover 2, Quarters and single-safety (Cover 1 and Cover 3).

With the signing of free agent safety Jaylinn Hawkins, Minter has the pieces he needs to deploy a three-safety look and transition to a similar zone-heavy outfit in Baltimore. The interesting thing is that Orr also had a natural three-safety rotation last season, especially when the team traded for Alohi Gilman. But Orr still played more man coverage compared to Minter.

The reason Minter and his former partner in crime, Mike Macdonald, opt for a higher zone frequency, is to create a more complex pre-snap disguise. Late movement and rotation is a staple of Minter’s back end strategy. He likes to show any of the above two-high shells pre-snap, only to shift to another alignment after the snap. He’ll also toggle between press technique and off coverage technique at the snap. The picture changes after the quarterback gets a look at the defense, and it’s often difficult to anticipate the coverage change that’ll take place.

In that sense, the players have to be disciplined in how they line up pre-snap and where they go post-snap. As detailed as Minter coaches those constant shifts, it’s critical that there are no predictable tendencies to tip off the offense.

2. How will the Dime and Nickel packages look?

As I alluded to in the last section, the key to Minter’s two-high frequency is having three safeties on the field to form a base defense. When we talk about base defense today, it’s mostly a Nickel look with five defensive backs on the field. Or with a third safety, it’s a “Big Nickel.” As Cody Alexander outlined in his excellent piece about Minter’s defense in LA, “67% of all downs in the league were played in Nickel in 2023” and that number didn’t change much in 2025.

The reason is simple: Defenses need more speed and coverage options on the field to counter offenses that are deploying more 11 personnel. And even 12, with two tight ends, is trickier to defend, because often one of the tight ends is like a slot receiver.

Not only does Minter lean heavily on Nickel, but he ran the most Dime looks (with six defensive backs) in the league. With Nickel and Dime, he used James as his “Star” chess piece who could line up where an off-ball linebacker typically lines up. James could come down in the box, take on blockers, and fill rush lanes to play the run. Given his ability to play that role, Minter could still keep six in coverage and play the run with five defenders.

Baltimore also ranked top four in dime personnel usage frequency. However, they still paled in comparison to what the Chargers were doing. And with Hawkins, Malaki Starks, and All Pro Kyle Hamilton all able to play the deep half of the field (split safety), slot (inside the numbers) or even close to the box (to blitz), expect the Ravens to live in this three-safety personnel group. I expect less three-cornerback deployments, whether it’s Nickel or Dime.

3. How will Hamilton’s role compare to James’ in Big Nickel and Dime?

I grazed the surface on how Minter unleashed James as the Star who could move all over and fuel the Chargers’ Nickel/Dime packages. Let’s dig in a little more.

According to Alexander, Minter used James near the box on 85% of snaps – a remarkable figure. He was their standup linebacker in many ways, but he didn’t always stay in the box even if started there. It was a chance for James to often stay near the front where Minter could still slide and shift him out to disrupt offenses post-snap. In fact, here’s an example of James’ versatility paying off, as he dropped from box stance to the Tampa 2 “carry” backer in coverage after the snap.

Just watched a clip of Jesse Minter using Derwin James as the Tampa 2 carry ILB in coverage. On a late drop in coverage at that.

Absolutely nuts. And the type of usage we can expect from Kyle Hamilton. #Ravens #RavensFlock

— Dev Panchwagh (@devpanchwagh) March 15, 2026

In contrast, while Hamilton played a ton in the box (355 snaps, at roughly 45%, over 16 games), he also played nearly 300 snaps from the slot. And incredibly, he had 164 snaps on the defensive line! There were plenty of third-down and defined passing-down scenarios where Hamilton had his hand in the dirt to rush from a three-point stance.

As we saw, Orr depended on Hamilton to be a featured cog for the pass rush, especially after Nnamdi Madubuike went down with a season-ending neck injury.

How will Minter mix what he did with James with how he can weaponize Hamilton?

The snap ratio will likely change for Hamilton. For one thing, Starks can play more slot duties with Hawkins rotating deep as the free safety. Under Orr, Starks was almost entirely a deep safety, but he offers more versatility, and he was used a lot more from the slot at Georgia.

Hawkins is also capable of moving around. And unlike the safety he’s replacing (Gilman), Hawkins is a better tackler and just as aggressive filling lanes.

This gives Minter more options with Hamilton as a disguise from the box who actually ends up being a pivotal coverage eraser for his simulated pressure looks. And now, Hamilton will be more ingrained within a zone structure, just like James, who so often could change the look from pre- to post-snap (going back to the Tampa 2 example).

Hamilton’s post-snap movement could be just as devastating and hard for offenses to decipher.

4. Will Humphrey be used more in the Slot?

If Hamilton remains a weapon close to the line, even if Minter uses Starks more from the slot, that still opens up slot snaps for another defensive back. After all, Starks’ strength is as a deep center fielder and that shouldn’t change too dramatically. And while Hawkins is certainly capable of playing slot, he really didn’t do it as often in New England. He was more of a midfielder (to use a soccer reference) who would drive on inside and underneath routes, while also playing deep quite a bit.

Even with fewer three-cornerback deployments, the Nickel will still need slot optionality, especially against teams with three receivers who can expose a mismatch against a safety.

With the Ravens’ re-signing cornerback Chidobe Awuzie, they’re returning the top three corners from last season (including Nate Wiggins). They’ve also got third-year corner T.J. Tampa in the pipeline, who seems like a natural fit in Minter’s zone-heavy scheme given his arm length, eye discipline and fast trigger. Bilhal Kone (a fourth-rounder last year who missed the entire season) also has superb ball skills, instincts and zone traits.

Ahead of next week’s NFL draft, there’s also a chance the team will draft either Jermod McCoy or Mansoor Delane at pick 14. Both cornerbacks are regarded as top 10 overall players and might present clear “best player available” options for DeCosta.

Regardless of what the team does in the draft, they seem fully committed to Humphrey, even with his large cap figure ($26 million), coming off one of his worst seasons. DeCosta has openly said he’s not touching Humphrey and loves him.

Reading the tea leaves, Humphrey presents the best corner/nickel option for Minter between all the other corners. Wiggins and Awuzie are boundary CBs. Tampa has some interesting versatility but his lack of change of direction is a concern against shifter receivers.

When Humphrey has played in the slot, he’s mostly been stellar. This goes back to 2023 when Macdonald used him inside with Brandon Stephens and Ronald Darby outside. He’s incredibly smart, has fluid hips, plays physical, can blitz and is crafty enough to handle different releases.

It seems like from afar (and without an inside knowledge) that Minter and DeCosta talked about Humphrey’s overall value, perhaps acknowledging that he wasn’t playing the right technique (as Woodson said). And with the new staff and scheme, Humphrey should fit well. Especially if he’s in less direct man coverage situations with the chance to play more zone with his eyes in front and drive on the ball.

5. How will coverage improvements enhance the front and four-man pass rush?

All of the prior questions have a direct net impact on the performance of the pass rush. Dissecting Minter’s coverage scheme is essential to understanding his view on rushing the quarterback.

Simply, confusing the quarterback with pre-to-post snap disguise, staying coverage-first with Nickel and Dime looks, and taking away the deep ball are all elements that feed the rush effectiveness. On the last point, the goal is to disrupt the QB’s on-time delivery and decisiveness.

As Ravens fans remember from Macdonald’s time in Baltimore, simulated rush is naturally tied to how the coverage behaves. Rushers can turn into “creeper” coverage defenders and vice versa. That level of unpredictability, married with coverage shapeshifting on the back end is the formula that Minter uses over and over like a card dealer in Vegas. The players might win a few hands, but the house will most often win over the long haul.

Now, in order to run more sub packages (Nickel, Dime) to fortify coverage versatility and have more speed on the field, Minter relies on lighter boxes to defend the run. This is the major tradeoff in his defensive approach. It means that defensive backs have to play the run well. And it’s why Hamilton is so important for making it all work.

But ultimately, if Minter can play the run well enough on early downs, he’s got the checkmate on offenses in defined passing situations. In comparison to a toothless pass rush that Baltimore relied on week after week in 2025, the 2026 pass rush should get a shot in the arm under Minter.

In contrast, the Chargers ranked top five in sack rate without a star pass rusher on the front. Part of that is due to how Minter and his staff put his rushers in position to win one on one and exploit mismatches. But he also varied the rush patterns so anyone could be a threat. This gets back to the simulated rush – he’ll consistently rush four (over 72% of the time according to Next Gen Stats), drop linemen and backers into coverage; blitz less often with numbers (and certainly less than Orr); but the QB will have a hard time identifying which rushers are coming.

Again, it’s a symbiotic relationship between what happens with the front look, rush path and coverage type. At any point in time, Minter can dial up a three-way combination that offenses couldn’t foresee from film prep or earlier in the game, and that’s how he stays a step ahead.

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