The very qualities that made Kyle Hamilton such an intriguing prospect — body match for an outdoor linebacker, a chameleonic present for morphing from one play to the subsequent — made him a puzzle for Ravens coaches, who’re attempting to win as many video games as attainable, proper now.
“We’re just now just tapping into things that he can do,” secondary coach Chris Hewitt acknowledged after the Ravens’ Week 9 win over the New Orleans Saints. “He’s a unique player.”
Against the Saints, that meant the 6-foot-4, 221-pound Hamilton was the crew’s No. 1 choice at nickel again, protecting sprinter-fast extensive receiver Chris Olave on one play, leaving his man to flatten a working again within the open subject on one other and serving to arrange sacks for his teammates together with his brawny work as a move rusher. So many skills pieced collectively in a single bundle, and the Ravens lastly appeared to know one of the best ways to activate all of them.
“I feel like we were all figuring it out,” Hamilton mentioned. “Obviously, I play safety; that’s the position they drafted me at. But at the same time, given my skill set — I can play multiple positions, and we have such a deep safety room — as long as it gets me on the field and I’m productive doing it, I don’t see an issue.”
The Ravens answered two questions — how would their prime 2022 draft choose influence successful, and who would take the lead at their unsettled nickel spot? — with one personnel deployment.
Teammates have seen Hamilton coming into his personal, not simply in New Orleans however within the Ravens’ Week 8 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“I think he has really come along pretty strong lately,” cornerback Marlon Humphrey mentioned. “He’s such an un-positional player. He can kind of just about play anywhere, and I think he’s best when he’s able to play here, play there, play there, and that’s a really unique skill set. … When he’s just able to play free and play all over, he can do some special things. And I think we’re kind of coming up with a recipe for him.”
When requested why the Ravens have discombobulated opposing offenses in latest weeks, veteran exterior linebacker Justin Houston pointed to their unpredictability. Unprompted, he talked about Hamilton as a number one cause why they’re troublesome to plan for. “Hamilton is moving all over the place,” he mentioned. “They don’t know where he’s lining up.”
Puzzles usually are not unhealthy; they’re really fairly participating. But they don’t supply prompt gratification, and that was the rub for Ravens followers, who heard the gushing when Hamilton was drafted No. 14 total and assumed he would slot proper in as a cultured starter.
So they panicked when receivers blew previous him in one-on-one drills, scrutinized his physique language for indicators of indifference and leaped to questioning if he was bust after his psychological errors — for which he took instant, pained duty — contributed to the Ravens’ fourth-quarter debacle in opposition to the Miami Dolphins in Week 2.
Never thoughts that Hamilton additionally sprinkled in some great moments, particularly the play on which he chased down New England Patriots extensive receiver Nelson Agholor for a game-saving strip, or that his Pro Football Focus grades mentioned he was doing good work in a modest function.
After every-down starter Marcus Williams, the crew’s prime free-agent addition within the offseason, dislocated his wrist in Week 5, the Ravens appeared to verify followers’ misgivings about Hamilton once they turned to Geno Stone, beforehand an afterthought within the rotation, as their new answer on the again finish. Hamilton’s defensive snaps ticked up, from a season-low 14 in Week 5 to 29 in Week 6, however Stone was the man coaches trusted to be on the sphere always. From Weeks 3 to 7, Hamilton by no means performed greater than 45% of the Ravens’ defensive snaps.
He grew right into a hellacious particular groups performer, a well-recognized again channel the place younger Ravens defenders win the affections of coach John Harbaugh and his employees, however couldn’t crack that ceiling.
Did his spirits sink throughout this era?
“It’s all about respect and earning playing time,” Hamilton mentioned. “No matter what pick I was, I was making mistakes that were not part of the defense, giving stuff up. If I didn’t play as much and that was the reason for it — not saying that it was — but if that was the reason, I fully understand it, and I can’t be frustrated with anybody but myself.”
The selection of Stone to fill in for Williams was as a lot about match as something Hamilton did or didn’t do. Some of the rookie’s multipronged skills — pressuring opposing quarterbacks, selecting up tight ends on beneath routes, serving as a secondary enforcer in opposition to the run — could be wasted if the Ravens merely planted him deep in protection. Coaches additionally had not found out a sturdy answer within the slot, the place they auditioned rookie cornerback Damarion “Pepe” Williams and second-year defensive again Brandon Stephens whereas additionally turning to Humphrey now and again.
They found out how you can get Hamilton on the sphere — 53% of defensive snaps in opposition to Tampa Bay, a season-high 75% in opposition to New Orleans — partially by recognizing that he was the best fifth defensive again in lots of conditions. He performed extra defensive snaps in opposition to the Saints than Williams and Stephens mixed.
“He’s kind of an unconventional body [at nickel],” defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald mentioned. “He’s so big and takes up a lot of space. One thing it allows you to do is, he’s very good on the perimeter game, the RPO game on the perimeter. Obviously, he’s a good blitzer coming off the edge. And then if you need him to play a deep zone, some nickels are able to do it, but he’s a safety by trade, so he can play back there as well.”
Hamilton mentioned he didn’t play a lot nickel at Notre Dame, although Pro Football Focus’ charting confirmed he performed extra within the slot than deep or within the field final season. He in contrast the shift to shifting from level guard to taking pictures guard in the course of a basketball recreation.
“It’s a completely different viewpoint,” he mentioned.
That doesn’t imply will probably be this manner each week. New Orleans introduced some uncommon issues with versatile working again Alvin Kamara and wildcat quarterback Taysom Hill. Harbaugh mentioned Wednesday that the Ravens’ image at nickel is much from settled.
“If solidified means like just one guy being out there the whole time, I’d say probably no, and we’re probably not going to be there this season,” he mentioned. “You mentioned Kyle Hamilton before playing nickel; we’re probably going to do it by personnel group and just circumstances and the game plan. You’ve seen Marlon in there; he’ll probably continue to go in there. So, I think we’ll be moving guys around.”
Harbaugh didn’t wish to pigeonhole Hamilton as a nickel again going ahead. At the identical time, he agreed the Ravens have found out some win-now utilities for his or her prime choose and that Hamilton has responded with extra decisive play.
“He’s not going to be limited to any of those spots certainly in the future, but for right now, the way we’re set up, the nickel and the dime spot are good spots for him,” Harbaugh mentioned. “Those guys, in some of our disguises and the way we rotate some of the coverages, the nickel and the dime run back and play deep plenty of times. So, it’s all kind of interchangeable. He’s done a great job, and [he’s] playing good ball.”
The rookie’s evolving function needn’t be threatened by Williams’ return (on track for December, Harbaugh mentioned just lately), so there’s little cause to assume his surge will probably be fleeting.
Hamilton’s tape reveals many little treats. You may see probably the most adorned quarterback in league historical past, Tom Brady, throw the ball away as a result of the rookie locked up his tight finish. Or you may see Hamilton fireplace off the road of scrimmage and beat a guard with a pass-rush transfer. He eats up floor together with his gliding stride, however he’s all the time in search of somebody to hit.
Though Pro Football Focus grades aren’t the be-all, end-all, particularly not for a part-time participant, Hamilton’s marks line up together with his teammates’ critiques. His total 81.5 ranks fourth amongst all safeties, nevertheless it’s the breakdown — 71.1 for run protection, 71.6 for move rush, 80.5 for protection — that speaks to his versatility.
“I would say yeah,” Hamilton answered when requested if he’s making faster, smarter selections. “I would just say it’s trusting myself more, trusting my teammates, my teammates trusting me. It’s just all coming to fruition at this point.”
Week 11
Panthers at Ravens
Sunday, 1 p.m.
TV: Ch. 45
Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM
Line: Ravens by 13
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Source: www.bostonherald.com