Ravens to Sign Rock Ya-Sin

[RavensTillIDie]

Wait, are people down on Pepe Williams? I thought he looked pretty good in the slot, when given the opportunity, last year as a rookie. I still think he has room to grow there. I would imagine he's got the lead on the starting NCB spot, assuming they move Hamilton out of that role this year.

[santiagomn8]

What does everyone think about bringing Averret back?

[AFlaccoSeagulls]

2 hours ago, santiagomn8 said:

What does everyone think about bringing Averret back?

better than Stephens but he'll just get hurt after the 2nd game anyways.

[diamondbull424]

4 hours ago, santiagomn8 said:

What does everyone think about bringing Averret back?

Before the RYS signing I thought it made sense, now he might just get in the way of the young guys development, so if he costs more than veteran min, then it probably doesn’t make sense. Though he’d make sense as someone to bring in if there’s an injury to someone else that pops up.

Though Marcus Peters, I’d be interested in because if he’s healthy than he can be a true difference maker.

[Ray Reed]

17 hours ago, AngusMcFife said:

 

Maybe I'm reading the stats wrong but they seem pretty decent for Stephens. 89 passer rating against, which is the NFL average. Being an average CB on the 3rd year of a 3rd round pick seems like good value. Especially considering he was moved around, I don't know why you'd want to cut that player. Harbaugh is especially incentivized to keep him because he's a project player, if he is successful it is a feather in the cap of the coach for converting his position. 

I agree Pepe Williams looked decent, definitely quick. 

JAD I just haven't seen anything from, he was hurt in Alabama and now hurt with the Ravens. Not really impressive when on the field. He could be cut if he's injured/ineffective. 

Obviously if Kelley shows anything we'll keep him. But remember they did cut Ben Mason in his first year, he was a 5th round pick. It isn't out of the question to cut a 5th rounder. 

That’s because he played less than half of our defense snaps, and by extension was put in way less situations to give up plays that would adversely affect that rating (like giving up TDs). It also doesn’t take into account high leverage situations that may not contribute greatly to an opponents passer rating: perfect example is the horribly played, game losing 2 PT conversion against JAX where he gave the WR a free release and allowed the 2 pt try to lose the game.

The efficiency and production stats tell you all you need to know. 59th in yards per reception allowed. 68th in man success rate. 

Im sorry, we’re just going to have to agree to disagree here. There’s just nothing you’re going to be able to tell me that somehow changes what i’ve seen with my own two eyes in watching Brandon Stephens the last two years. If you think he hasn’t been bad, that’s your opinion, but i’ve watched enough football in my life and i’ve watched enough Brandon Stephens to know what i think about him as a player.

Edited May 4, 2023 by Ray Reed

[AngusMcFife]

51 minutes ago, Ray Reed said:

The efficiency and production stats tell you all you need to know. 59th in yards per reception allowed. 68th in man success rate. 

I don't know how many players this site is ranking, so it's hard to tell how meaningful that is. Stephens is also 36th in passer rating allowed, which is pretty good. I clicked on a random player and saw he was 139th ranked. So actually being the 59th best CB out of 150 or more is pretty good. 

We don't have to continue the Brandon Stephens debate. 

But I would confidently wager that he'll be on the roster in week 1. Maybe "lock" is a bit strong. But he has a big advantage over JAD and Pepe Williams in terms of the roster battle because of his experience and "project" status. Coaches love projects. 

[Ray Reed]

13 hours ago, AngusMcFife said:

I don't know how many players this site is ranking, so it's hard to tell how meaningful that is. Stephens is also 36th in passer rating allowed, which is pretty good. I clicked on a random player and saw he was 139th ranked. So actually being the 59th best CB out of 150 or more is pretty good. 

We don't have to continue the Brandon Stephens debate. 

But I would confidently wager that he'll be on the roster in week 1. Maybe "lock" is a bit strong. But he has a big advantage over JAD and Pepe Williams in terms of the roster battle because of his experience and "project" status. Coaches love projects. 

I do agree with this point and ultimately I do think he ends up on the roster (much to my chagrin). 

I just don't want to see him out on the field dammit!  

[diamondbull424]

1 hour ago, Ray Reed said:

I do agree with this point and ultimately I do think he ends up on the roster (much to my chagrin). 

I just don't want to see him out on the field dammit!  

Stephens made noticeable improvements from year one to year two where he went from deer in headlights to competently below average towards the end of the year.

Anthony Averett followed a similar track of development, particularly with Stephens being a converted RB until like his third season in college and CB being one of the most difficult positions to transition to in the league, I would be careful to limit what Stephens is capable of displaying in year three.

He tested out with a 9.2 RAS and his movement and ball skills have improved year over year; so it stands to reason that with playing experience under his belt he could present noticeable gains.

Luckily we don’t have to rely on such with the added depth of RYS and I don’t think he should be a lock, but I think expecting a quality jump from Stephens and Williams is very reasonable considering the playing time under their belt and Williams being IIRC considered a more pro ready prospect at CB.

KBK and JAD I’d say are unknowns, but certainly provide plenty of reason to be excited.

[coordinator0]

The chances of Stephens, Williams, JAD, or KBK not being on the roster are so small it's really not even worth discussing in my opinion. They're all going to be around. Only exception is if they have to go on PUP or IR. With Humphrey and Ya-Sin that's six cornerbacks, but Stephens could be considered safety depth too so there's still a chance of a pseduo-7th corner to make the roster. Keyes, Worley, Mullen, Seymour, and Washington are all fighting for what is probably the last defensive back slot. 

[AngusMcFife]

33 minutes ago, coordinator0 said:

The chances of Stephens, Williams, JAD, or KBK not being on the roster are so small it's really not even worth discussing in my opinion. They're all going to be around. Only exception is if they have to go on PUP or IR. With Humphrey and Ya-Sin that's six cornerbacks, but Stephens could be considered safety depth too so there's still a chance of a pseduo-7th corner to make the roster. Keyes, Worley, Mullen, Seymour, and Washington are all fighting for what is probably the last defensive back slot. 

I think the Ravens should still invest in another proven free agent CB, though, which would winnow the numbers.  

[SalvadorsDeli]

23 minutes ago, AngusMcFife said:

I think the Ravens should still invest in another proven free agent CB, though, which would winnow the numbers.  

Barring injury I don't think we'll see any other significant FA's brought in at CB unless someone like Peters is willing to take a ring-chasing vet minimum type deal to come in. Lamar's deal created about $10 million in cap space but RYS already ate into 6 of that, there's probably a Justin Houston vet minimum deal coming soon, and they still need to finish signing the rest of the draft class. 

[AngusMcFife]

1 hour ago, SalvadorsDeli said:

Barring injury I don't think we'll see any other significant FA's brought in at CB unless someone like Peters is willing to take a ring-chasing vet minimum type deal to come in. Lamar's deal created about $10 million in cap space but RYS already ate into 6 of that, there's probably a Justin Houston vet minimum deal coming soon, and they still need to finish signing the rest of the draft class. 

Ok but if Humphrey or Ya-Sin gets injured you realized our D is f'ed for the year. I'm still not sure if we have a nickel CB with this group. 

[SalvadorsDeli]

1 hour ago, AngusMcFife said:

Ok but if Humphrey or Ya-Sin gets injured you realized our D is f'ed for the year. I'm still not sure if we have a nickel CB with this group. 

I mean yeah I don't think anyone is thrilled about our CB depth, but it is what it is at this point. Even if we bring in another vet corner they're almost by default gonna be someone we're not that excited about starting either given the price point we'll be shopping at. Of the young corners I think Pepe probably has the best chance at making a real leap developmentally and becoming a decent starter which would also shore up the nickel position, but it's just hard to have too much faith in any of those guys until we see it happen.

Edited May 5, 2023 by SalvadorsDeli

[diamondbull424]

Along with Williams we also have Ardarius Washington who also could position himself in that NCB contention.

If we go veteran I think it makes sense for Peters but it also makes sense that as he knows the defense that we could wait until the end of training camp to make that decision for both parties.

He’s a vet and knows how to stay in appropriate shape and if an injury happens to our starters, he makes a lot of sense for us to get in his direction.

[coordinator0]

4 hours ago, AngusMcFife said:

I think the Ravens should still invest in another proven free agent CB, though, which would winnow the numbers.  

If anyone else of note is brought in then that likely spells the end of those last five guys. Simple as that unless the team keeps 12 DBs and that seems unlikely.

2 hours ago, AngusMcFife said:

Ok but if Humphrey or Ya-Sin gets injured you realized our D is f'ed for the year. I'm still not sure if we have a nickel CB with this group. 

And then that's where you have to start relying on young, cheap depth. At some point the team needs to get them out there with real snaps and see what they can do. Can't have four starters at every position. Now if Peters would come back on a pretty cheap deal that's another thing entirely. 

 

52 minutes ago, diamondbull424 said:

Along with Williams we also have Ardarius Washington who also could position himself in that NCB contention.

If we go veteran I think it makes sense for Peters but it also makes sense that as he knows the defense that we could wait until the end of training camp to make that decision for both parties.

He’s a vet and knows how to stay in appropriate shape and if an injury happens to our starters, he makes a lot of sense for us to get in his direction.

I like Williams but I'm not sure the team is terribly high on him. Even with all the other injuries last season I don't think he made it onto the active roster until the last couple of weeks or so.