Game Plan: Kyle Hamilton and Doug Farrar Review Game Tape, Discuss Ravens’ Strategy
In today’s NFL, and in the NCAA as well, defensive backs are tasked to play more positions on the field than ever before. Those multi-position players are unicorns at their best when compared with defensive backs of the past.
Among those unicorns, Kyle Hamilton of the Baltimore Ravens is a unicorn unto himself. The Notre Dame alum, selected by the Ravens with the 14th overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft, was that way in college, and he’s taken his special versatility to the pros. Hamilton was quite adept in the box, the slot, and at free safety with the Fighting Irish, and he also played at the line of scrimmage with a little bit of outside cornerback mixed in.
The Ravens wanted Hamilton for that effective versatility, and it’s all transferred over. Hamilton has been a bit more of a slot player than he was in college, but the primary point is that he can be deployed from just about anywhere in a defense, and wreck things for opposing offenses.
In the 2024 season, when the Ravens have worked to adapt to the differences presented by a new coaching staff under first-year defensive coordinator Zach Orr, Hamilton has been a crucial part of that process. Hamilton has been working more and more as a free safety of late after an early focus on making him a slot bully, but it just doesn’t matter — wherever Kyle Hamilton lines up, opposing offenses are in big trouble.
On Tuesday, I was able to watch 2024 game tape with Hamilton to get a better handle on how he’s able to do so many things at such a high level. Hamilton’s time was sponsored by his “My Cause, My Cleats” campaign in conjunction with USAA, and Our Military Kids. He’ll be wearing his custom cleats when the Ravens take on the Philadelphia Eagles this Sunday in a matchup that rivals anything else we’ve seen for potential “Game of the Year” status.
Hamilton talked about all that and his game tape mere hours after the Ravens got back from Los Angeles following Baltimore’s 30-23 Monday night win over the Chargers — a victory that put the Ravens at 8-4 on the season. Despite the lack of sleep, Hamilton was quite lucid on all subjects.
