OTL: Stock Report Entering Preseason Week 2

Saturday night’s 24-7 preseason win over the Eagles was about all Jesse Minter could ask for. The 43-year-old made his head coaching debut for the Ravens, dominated, and came out healthy. There’s been plenty of hype and excitement surrounding the team, as well as a number of rookies who have performed well during camp. Saturday night’s performance had that “new era” feel to it, as both sides of the ball left with plenty to be happy about. As the Ravens continue joint practices and prepare for the second preseason game of the season against the Vikings, let’s take a look at some current stocks on Ravens players.

Stock Up

TE Matthew Hibner

Entering 2026, there may not have been a position group with more question marks than the tight ends. Baltimore selected two of them in the 2026 NFL Draft, as they did in 2021 (Isaiah Likely & Charlie Kolar) and 2010 (Dennis Pitta and Ed Dickson), taking Matthew Hibner (133rd) and Josh Cuevas (173rd). Hibner had one of the more eye-popping performances for the Ravens in Week 1, getting it going with an impressive 29-yard reception on just the second play offensive play of the game. The 24-year-old finished with a 100% reception percentage, showing his ability to catch with his hands, bringing in all five targets. Hibner’s 61 receiving yards finished tied for second amongst all tight ends in Week 1, and his 92.6 PFF rating was the second highest rookie grade behind Texans safety Kamari Ramsey(94.8). I wouldn’t expect Hibner to have a role in the early parts of the regular season, but with another performance like Saturday, Hibner could find himself with a part in the offense sooner than expected.

QB Joe Fagnano

After QB3 Skylar Thompson landed on the IR, the opportunity for UDFA Joe Fagnano to take serious reps presented itself. The UConn product was impressive in his debut, showing he may have the skills to play in the NFL. Fagnano completed 22 of 28 passes for 224 yards, a TD, and an INT. Fagnano’s ability to take what the defense gave him, along with his limited number of high-risk plays, allowed the 25-year-old to finish with the 6th-highest PFF passing grade (71.1), on a minimum of 50% of 37 dropbacks. His 224 passing yards also led all QBs in the first week of the preseason. I think it’s safe to say Tyler Huntley’s job as QB2 is safe, but Fagnano has made a statement for the QB3 spot. Lamar Jackson isn’t expected to play much, if at all, this preseason, and with two games remaining before the regular season, Fagnano may see the reps needed to solidify himself as the emergency third quarterback.

CB Keyon Martin

Keyon Martin was one of three UDFA’s to make the Ravens 53-man roster in 2025, and the second-year corner is making a case to remain in Baltimore in 2026. Saturday’s performance came with a little bit of everything for Martin, despite playing just 16 total snaps. The 25-year-old recorded four total tackles, including a sack on his lone pass-rush attempt. The Ravens have a lot of youth in their cornerback room, but Martin is coming off a rookie season with 144 defensive snaps played. His closing speed and willingness to get involved in the play were on display Saturday, landing him a spot on PFF’s “10 NFL Players Who Turned Heads in Their 2026 Preseason Debuts” list.

Through all reports, Martin has had an impressive start to joint practices with the Vikings (including mixing it up a bit), and it’ll be interesting to see how much he plays on Saturday for preseason game number two.

Getting chippy out here pic.twitter.com/i6OqxfOy5a

— Jason Harmon (@JasonHarmonNFL) August 19, 2026

Stock Down

K Tyler Loop

It’s been stated over and over again-there won’t be a player under more scrutiny this season than second-year kicker Tyler Loop. For Loop, it couldn’t have been a worse start to his 2026 season, as he pushed a 49-yarder wide right in his first attempt, a kick that looked eerily similar to the one that ended the team’s 2025 season in Pittsburgh. The Ravens decided not to bring in competition this offseason for Loop, despite the 25-year-old’s clear struggles to make kicks from long range in games.

Time For The Ravens to Get a Leg Up!

It’s disappointing, given the solid start to camp that Loop has had, including making multiple kicks from 60+ yards. You’ve got to imagine he’ll be on a much shorter leash as the season approaches, especially factoring in this Saturday’s game that’ll be played indoors. Loop did finish 4-of-5 on FGs in Minnesota last year, as well as a 1-for-1 finish on XPs. There’s not much out there in the free agency market that appears as much of an improvement.

However, should Loop continue to struggle, it’s worth a look to potentially replace the 2025 6th-round pick.

G Emery Jones Jr.

Jones was viewed by many to be a lock to make the roster and potentially rotate in on the line at times throughout the season. The Ravens’ 2025 third-round pick struggled in his preseason opener, and didn’t look the part of a rotational lineman. Jones got the start at left guard against the Eagles, before moving over to right guard to end the evening. The second-year lineman recorded 66 total snaps, 15 at left guard and 51 at right guard. Jones found himself getting bullied at times by the Eagles second-string defense, including a drive killing sack early in the first quarter. His early sack allowed was the lone sack given up by the Ravens, but his inability to create holes in the run game was another glaring issue from his performance. Jones finished second on the team in snaps played on the offensive line, and I can’t see much changing there against the Vikings. The team will give him every opportunity to prove that he belongs; now he has to justify their investment. Jones’ stock down isn’t an alert that he’s a potential roster cut, but his play on the field will need to improve over these next two games if he has any aspirations of finding the field.

The post OTL: Stock Report Entering Preseason Week 2 appeared first on Russell Street Report.

Source: https://russellstreetreport.com/2026/08/20/out-to-lunch/stock-report-preseason-2/