Happy Friday, Flock Nation. It’s our last Friday to look forward to a football game for the next way-too-many months, so savor the build-up to the Super Bowl on Sunday.
The Ravens have two former players in this year’s Super Bowl. Everyone knows Eric Weddle, but how about Blake Countess getting picked up by the Rams for their playoff run, and even contributing on special teams against the Cardinals and the Buccaneers? He probably won’t be active on Sunday, but he’ll get a ring if the Rams win either way!
The 2022 NFL Honors were also a part of the Super Bowl festivities, taking place on Thursday night in Los Angeles. And wouldn’t you know it? The Ravens managed to bring home some hardware after a fairly dismal 2021 season!
Justin Tucker, winner of the Bridgestone Best Moment of the Year. #NFLHonors pic.twitter.com/bMGNfKlvq5
— Tony Lombardi (@RSRLombardi) February 11, 2022
That’s right, Justin Tucker, the GOAT, won the NFL’s Moment of the Year award for his record-breaking, game-winning 66-yard field goal against the Lions back in Week 3.
The @NFL Moment of the Year❗️
🐐 @jtuck9
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) February 11, 2022
In his victory speech, Tucker thanked the other two members of the Ravens’ core special teams battery, long-snapper Nick Moore and punter/holder Sam Koch, while also shouting out Lamar Jackson and Sammy Watkins for the 4th-and-19 conversion that set up the 66-yarder in the first place.
.@jtuck9 accepts his award for NFL Moment of the Year❗️ pic.twitter.com/F23dViDLb6
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) February 11, 2022
And for anyone who is still surprised about that field goal, just take a look at this picture of the GOAT.
JUSTIN TUCKER MY GOAT pic.twitter.com/iOAMum5dVq
— sammy in a bottle 🧞♂️ (@Flxmingoz) February 11, 2022
Heck, young JT probably could’ve hit a 70-yarder! He still might before his career is over!
Meanwhile in Baltimore, the Ravens are putting together their 2022 coaching staff, with a few additions confirmed today.
Ravens are hiring Rob Leonard as their OLBs coach. He replaces Drew Wilkins.
— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiec) February 11, 2022
First is former Dolphins and Giants coach Rob Leonard, who will take over the outside linebackers coach position from Drew Wilkins.
Another addition to the Ravens defensive staff will be Michigan analyst Ryan Osborn, as @mzenitz previously reported. He’ll join Mike Macdonald in Baltimore in a quality control position.
— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiec) February 11, 2022
Next is Ryan Osborn, who earned rave reviews from players at Michigan for his coaching of their edge defenders. He’ll be a quality control coach in Baltimore, likely helping out with the outside linebackers and defensive line specifically.
Of course, we are also about to officially enter draft season after the Super Bowl, so I would be remiss not to mention a 2022 draft prospect that has intrigued me this week.
It can't be just any Wide Receiver, it needs to be an offensive weapon that does things that the current crop of Ravens WRs can't and makes defending the Ravens offense even more of a headache. In my piece I explain why Treylon Burks could be that guy https://t.co/pqm7lIwTHY
— James Ogden (@NflOgden) February 10, 2022
Credit to James Ogden for putting together this excellent article with a very compelling argument for the Ravens to take Treylon Burks with the 14th pick.
Since we have no idea where the board will fall, I think it’s too early to compare Burks to other potentially-available players, but I do think he’s talented enough to be worth the 14th pick.
It's absolutely ridiculous for Treylon Burks to be moving that fast with his size. Probably the best fit for #Raiders HC Josh McDaniels new offense pic.twitter.com/W2KJJH05Fq
— Raiders Culture (@Raidersculture) February 4, 2022
He’s 6-foot-3 and 225 pounds with electric speed, and could do a ton in the Ravens offense. I’m personally expecting a sub-4.4-second 40-yard dash, which would put him firmly in contention to be a top-15 pick.
Treylon Burks on the slant with a safety near his hip and a safety over the top. Such an intriguing player for the 2022 NFL Draft. pic.twitter.com/SSCgIOcVHy
— Russell Brown (@RussNFLDraft) February 11, 2022
Now, I’m not saying that Burks is the next Deebo Samuel. Neither is Devin Duvernay, for that matter.
But Samuel and Cordarrelle Patterson have shown something very important to the NFL this season: get creative with unique players.
It’s not hard to imagine Burks getting plenty of one-on-one matchups in space during a rookie season in Baltimore with Mark Andrew, Hollywood Brown and Rashod Bateman on the field with him, not to mention Lamar Jackson.
You give Treylon Burks a free release on a go route and it'll be time to crank up the band. pic.twitter.com/Z4t7rWtVNJ
— DJ Bien-Aime (@Djbienaime) February 8, 2022
That’s the perfect situation for him to bring back an explosive element to the Ravens offense both through his existing skillset and the potential for him to be used as a weapon of creative destruction in the Ravens offense.
Again, it’s not about using him the same way as Samuel or Patterson; it’s about taking Burks’ insane physical skills and finding the best way to maximize them.
I get why fans may not trust Greg Roman to do that; I’m not sure I do, either. But we’ve seen in this postseason that offense tends to win out in the NFL, and the Ravens may need to keep acquiring weapons to keep up in the AFC North arms race.
