The Ravens largely satisfied a raucous, hot crowd at M&T Bank Stadium with a drill-oriented practice that saw some of the team’s top pass-catchers put on a show.
Rookie receiver Zay Flowers was absent again with an illness, but he was present on the sidelines, chatting with Rashod Bateman and JK Dobbins at one point. His slack was taken up, however, with sterling performances from tight ends Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely, along with some highlight plays from Odell Beckham Jr.
Beckham thrilled the crowd with a grab on a lofted pass from Lamar Jackson with Marlon Humphrey in coverage. Beckham streaked free from Humphrey and hauled in a beautifully-dropped throw, only a few plays after the free-agent acquisition snatched another pass by extending while going to the ground.
Andrews and Likely were active throughout the day, and Andrews once again proved to be Jackson’s safety net when facing pressure or looking at a third-down situation in practice. Likely scored on another nice throw from Jackson, but defensive lineman Broderick Washington pulled up on the play, allowing Jackson that extra time to complete the throw.
Defensively, a few players shined. Travis Jones was stealing souls in one-on-one drills, and Justin Madubuike was active in team drills. Madubuike flushed Jackson out of the pocket on one rep and David Ojabo had a clear sack. Ojabo also had a nice run stuff on Justice Hill.
Rock Ya-Sin was impressive throughout the day, He shadowed Beckham tightly to force one incompletion, and broke up a pass to Nelson Agholor on another rep. Geno Stone also had a nice forced incompletion against Likely on one pass.
Also of note:
— Jordan Stout and new long-snapper Tyler Ott were the first two players to take the field, and Stout launched moon shot after moon shot — possibly trying to bring down some cooling rain for the 19,000-plus in attendance? Justin Tucker soon joined them and instantly played to the crowd, getting them making noise.
— It’s only training camp so, yeah. But Jalyn Armour-Davis looks like a much-improved player already, compared to his rookie camp. Him and rookie Kyu Kelly have both been sticky in coverage.
— Josh Johnson hit Tylan Wallace on a slant, but Wallace then appeared to fumble the ball and it popped right into the hands of receiver Sean Ryan for a touchdown. Today’s Odd Play of the Day was brought to you by… me. I don’t have a sponsor. Interested?
— Jackson just missed Agholor sprinting up the sidelines between two defenders for what would have been a big gain.
— Wallace was pretty good for a second straight day, and he brought in a tough catch on a high throw from Huntley in traffic.
— One of the best plays of the day was a terrific back-shoulder throw from Huntley to Tarik Black. It was a perfect throw and a great display of body control and concentration by Black.
— The Ravens will take a day off tomorrow and will no doubt be looking for air-conditioned activities after this week of practice.
