Baltimore Ravens: Tim Williams will liven up pass rush
The Baltimore Ravens will remain a defensive-minded team in 2017, and rookie Tim Williams will be a key part of that in the pass rush.
True to form, the Baltimore Ravens stuck to their guns in the 2017 NFL Draft. Despite needing weapons on offense, the continued to pick one defensive stud after another. Their offense was still left lacking, but their defense was strengthened in a big way. And one sneaky area where they should see instant results is in the pass rush.
Baltimore selected Tyus Bowser 47th overall and then Tim Williams in the third round with the No. 78 pick. In doing so, they added needed youth at outside linebacker, a group that’s led by the still effective, yet aging, Terrell Suggs. However, it could be the third-round in Williams that addresses the quiet weakness in the pass rush.
Last season, the Ravens just simply weren’t the dominant pass rushing team many are accustomed to seeing. Even Suggs wasn’t immune to the struggles that they had in getting after the quarterback. Among both edge rushers and interior defenders currently on the roster, Pro Football Focus only graded one player with a pass rushing grade over 70, their bar for average. Of course, that player was Suggs at 72.5, but even that mark is decidedly average for him.
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While Bowser is more of a hybrid edge that can drop back into coverage just as adeptly as he can rush in terms of his physical tools, Williams is a pure pass rusher. That’s almost exclusively what he was asked to do while at Alabama, and he did so with great aplomb. Truthfully, that a player with his ability to get after the passer dropped to the middle of the third round remains perplexing.
However puzzling it is, though, it’s to the benefit of the Ravens. In Williams, they aren’t getting an every-down player as his ability to defend the run is lacking as of now — though it’s not hopeless. More importantly, though, they can sub Williams in sub-packages on passing downs and unleash the beast. When pairing him opposite of a player like Suggs or even Bowser, that’s a dangerous tandem.
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Even after the addition of Jeremy Maclin, the Ravens offense is still going to sputter. They just don’t have the array of weapons they need to succeed. However, they’ll still be competitive due to the strength of their defense, typical of this organization. And Williams should figure into that equation in a big way. The pass rush was lacking a season ago, but with the addition of the rookie, that should start to turn back in favor of Baltimore.