Baltimore Ravens: Early 55-man roster predictions after the 2020 draft

Cornerbacks (6): Anthony Averett, Marlon Humphrey, Iman Marshall, Marcus Peters, Jimmy Smith, Tavon Young

Last year, Baltimore’s secondary ranked amongst the best in the NFL. Luckily, most of the team’s top contributors at cornerback are returning for at least one more season. The only notable player who didn’t stick around was Brandon Carr, who remains in the current free agent pool without a contract.

In 2019, Baltimore’s secondary held opponents to 207.2 passing yards per game, which ranked sixth in the league. The team’s success against the pass also led to Baltimore allowing the third-fewest points per game (17.6). Both of the team’s starting cornerbacks, Marlon Humphrey and Marcus Peters, earned First-Team All-Pro selections.

Humphrey and Peters will start this season again, and early projections have Tavon Young playing as the nickelback. Anthony Averett and Iman Marshall, fourth-round picks from 2018 and 2019 respectively, provide young depth to the cornerback corps. Veteran cornerback Jimmy Smith is also returning for possibly one final season in Baltimore.

Safeties (5): Chuck Clark, DeShon Elliott, Anthony Levine, Geno Stone, Earl Thomas

The safety position is relatively cut and dry, with only one possible question altering which players the Ravens keep around. Last year’s starters, Chuck Clark and Earl Thomas, will both reclaim their normal roles. As a sixth-round pick from last year, DeShon Elliott should feel safe about his position on the roster.

Anthony Levine should also make the final roster. While Levine is already 33 years old, he played a much larger role on the team last year than someone like Elliott. Levine played 17 percent of Baltimore’s defensive snaps and 71 percent of the special teams snaps. In comparison, Elliott only played 4 percent of the defensive snaps and 26 percent of the special teams snaps. Levine has been with the Ravens since 2012.

Geno Stone, a seventh-round pick from this year, seems like a perfect fit for a player who swings back and forth between the practice squad and active roster. He’s a tossup player with enough upside to make a roster, but I don’t think Baltimore will jettison a beloved veteran player to keep him.

The current projections leave Jordan Richards off of the final roster. Richards entered the NFL as a second-round pick via the New England Patriots in 2015 and appeared in nine games for the Ravens this past season.