After fielding one of the worst pass defenses in the NFL at the start of the 2024 season, it’s clear the Baltimore Ravens needed to make a change.
Marcus Williams went to the bench despite having one of the team’s biggest contracts, Tre’Davious White was acquired from the Los Angeles Rams to solidify the outside cornerback spot, and Kyle Hamilton, the cornerback Ravens All-Pro, was moved back to full-time safety, the position many expected him to play full-time at the NFL level before becoming an unlikely star in a hybrid role under former defensive coordinator Mike McDonald.
Discussing the final move and how Marlon Humphrey and Zach Orr called the decision to move Hamilton to safety a “stabilizing” force for the team’s defensive efforts during his lengthy Week 17 media session, John Harbaugh credited the Notre Dame product for constantly helping your team no matter what we ask of him in 2024.
“[It’s] so beneficial. That’s a good word for it. [Kyle Hamilton] is a first… Great players can probably do two things: they can do just about anything in football in their area, and they make everyone around them better. I definitely think Kyle has become one of those types of players. It’s been expressed over the last couple of years, but really this year and last month it’s really been expressed,” Harbaugh told reporters.
“Because you might think in terms of, ‘Well, he’s a boxer.’ He is [a] close to the scrum type of player, which he is, and perhaps he was even perceived that way during the draft. But yet he played deeply [safety] well at Notre Dame, and we always thought he could do it, but you say, “OK, well, he’s maybe our best player on defense, and certainly one of the best players in the league in terms of security. And our problems run deep, so let’s put it out there again. And he goes back and seamlessly makes a big difference. That’s probably a good indicator for a great player.
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Initially compared to Kam Chancler coming out of college, fans expected Hamilton to become an elite seven-man back, capable of splitting the difference between a traditional safety and a weakside linebacker in the box. While his 40th pick out of South Bend undoubtedly contributed to his fall from the draft board, going from a top 5 selection to the 14th overall selection. And yet, from the start, Hamilton proved to be one of the best better coverage of NFL playersranking 19th among safeties in 2022, fourth among safeties covered in 2023 and fifth among safeties in 2024 according to PFF.
Whether he plays safety or cornerback, or a fusion of the two, “The Stabilizer” is a pretty good nickname for the Notre Dame product, as that’s exactly what he did in the Ravens secondary since his draft and especially in 2024. If the Ravens make some noise in the playoffs, it’s safe to say that Hamilton played a big role in their success.
