Ethan Burke didn’t just get his first crack on defense for the Ravens in Week 4. He made it count in a hurry.
The undrafted rookie pass rusher, who had spent Baltimore’s first three games strictly on special teams, finally got real defensive work against the Tennessee Titans and turned 16 snaps into a sack. It was his first NFL defensive action, and he came out of it with the Ravens’ only sack in Sunday’s win.
Burke had earned his spot on the 53-man roster by becoming a preseason standout, but his path had been pretty narrow until the Trey Hendrickson injury opened the door. Once that happened, Baltimore gave him a look on defense, and he responded with the kind of play that can change how a coaching staff sees a young player.
There’s no mystery about the opportunity ahead of him, either. Hendrickson, Mike Green, Tavius Robinson, and Zion Young are all in front of Burke, and all four have strong cases for more snaps.
Hendrickson is elite, Green was excellent in Week 4, and Robinson and Young bring enough versatility and run defense to keep them in the mix. But the Ravens still need production, and that’s where Burke made his case.
Baltimore has only 7 sacks through four games, which leaves the team tied for 21st in the NFL. That’s not the kind of number this defense wants hanging around. The Ravens are already looking up at teams like the Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions, who have 16 and 15 sacks respectively.
It wasn’t a clean fix against Tennessee, but there were flashes. Cam Ward spent parts of the game escaping pressure, turning would-be sacks into scramble drills and even creating a big play on a 4th-and-10 when he slipped a collapsing pocket and hit Carnell Tate for a 33-yard completion. Those are the kinds of broken plays that can haunt a defense if they keep happening.
Burke’s length gives Baltimore something different to work with. At 6-foot-6 with an 83-inch reach, he can close ground fast and make quarterbacks pay when they think they’ve bought time. His sack Sunday came with help from the scheme and from Nnamdi Madubuike drawing attention, but Burke still had to finish it, and he did by getting to Ward before the quarterback could escape.
The Ravens know the sample size is tiny. Burke is still an undrafted rookie, and nobody should expect him to suddenly take over a rotational job and produce every week. But after what he showed in Week 4, he’s done enough to make himself harder to ignore.
Once Hendrickson returns - and he’s expected back soon after a finger procedure that’s supposed to be a quick fix - Burke could be back to the edge of the rotation. Still, if the Ravens are paying attention to what happened against Tennessee, they may have a reason to keep finding him snaps.
Every time Burke has gotten on the field, he’s made something happen.
In Other News...
Ravens Suddenly Have A Tight End Depth Problem To Solve
A thin spot on the Ravens roster got a lot thinner Sunday, when Durham Smythe went down against the Titans with a torn Achilles and was ruled out for the rest of the season. The veteran tight end, signed this offseason at age 31, had already carved out a meaningful role in Baltimores offense, logging more than 100 snaps before the injury changed the picture at the position.
Now the Ravens are left leaning harder on rookie tight ends Matthew Hibner and Josh Cuevas, two players who may be asked to handle more than expected as the season moves along. Baltimore could also look outside the building for another veteran option, because the depth chart at tight end suddenly needs a solution, and it needs one quickly. [Read more 🡒]
Ravens Sit Atop AFC North But One Concern Wont Go Away
After four weeks, Baltimore is still in the drivers seat in the AFC North at 3-1, with the division bunched tightly behind it. Cleveland is right there after a recent win over Pittsburgh, while Cincinnati and the Steelers are both trying to steady themselves after uneven starts. It is the kind of early-season standings picture that can change quickly, but for now the Ravens have the edge and a little breathing room.
Even so, the larger concern around the division is how long that cushion can last if Baltimore does not clean up some of the same issues that have followed it into the first month. The Ravens place at the top matters, but so does the fact that every team in the North still has a path to make life difficult over the stretch run. With upcoming games on the schedule, the next few weeks will go a long way toward showing whether Baltimore is truly separating itself or simply holding off a crowded field. [Read more 🡒]
Zay Flowers Looks Different In Baltimore For One Huge Reason
Zay Flowers has given the Ravens a jolt early this season, and it has come in a shape that looks a little different from what Baltimore got at times last year. Even after missing Week 2 with a hamstring injury and playing limited snaps in Week 3, Flowers has piled up 352 receiving yards, a figure that ranks seventh in the league, while also standing out in efficiency with one of the best yards-per-route-run marks among players with at least 20 routes.
The bigger change has been how the Ravens are using him. Offensive coordinator Declan Doyle has moved Flowers around the formation and into multiple roles across the field, which has pushed his target share up and made him harder to key on. Head coach Jesse Minter pointed to both Flowers versatility and Doyles creativity as reasons for the strong start, and the early results suggest Baltimore may finally be leaning into exactly what makes him most dangerous. [Read more 🡒]