The Baltimore Ravens put together an 11-player rookie class in the 2022 NFL draft, mixing some of the best players available on the board with needs that they needed to address. It resulted in a talented group, with multiple players expected to contribute in a big way during their first professional seaosn.
When grading each NFL team’s 2022 draft class, Maurice Moten of Bleacher Report gave an extremely high grade to the team, bestowing an A on the bunch. When explaining his decision, Moten talked about both of Baltimore’s first-round selections.
“Hamilton can cover space on the back end or step into the box for run support. He had a decent preseason, logging five tackles, a pass breakup and a fumble recovery…The Ravens should exercise patience with Linderbaum, who battled a foot injury that sidelined him for a stretch during training camp. Rookies need every possible rep through their first offseason, so the Iowa product may come along slowly this year. Yet he expects to be 100 percent and play Week 1.”
Moten also weighed in on fourth-round tight end Isaiah Likely, who starred throughout training camp and the preseason.
“Likely had one of the best overall preseason performances among all rookies, hauling in 12 passes for 144 yards and a touchdown. He can take the field with Mark Andrews to form one of the league’s best pass-catching tight end duos…The Ravens traded wideout Marquise Brown to the Cardinals during the draft, but don’t just look for Rashod Bateman to soak up more targets, Likely could make an impact as a pass-catcher this year.”
While the Ravens will have to wait on the contributions of some of their rookies who landed on injured reserve such as outside linebacker David Ojabo and tight end Charlie Kolar, Baltimore should see high level play from Hamilton, Linderbaum, and Likely early on. Not to mention, defensive lineman Travis Jones and cornerback Pepe Williams also figure to factor in throughout the year, and they were able to pick up solid developmental pierces in offensive tackle Daniel Faalele and cornerback Jalyn Armour-Davis.
