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In a season that hasn’t exactly gone to plan, with costly injuries and a four-game losing streak, the Ravens have come to rely on their rookie class more heavily than a veteran team typically would.
The Ravens drafted 11 players in April, though only 10 remained with the franchise out of training camp and only eight are on the 53-man roster. Three were injured to start the season. Two of those injuries were season-ending.
Four rookies — Malaki Starks, Mike Green, Teddye Buchanan and Tyler Loop — have played large roles, while others have contributed as depth players or on special teams.
With seven games down and 10 to go, here’s a look at how far the rookies have come since they arrived in Baltimore:
Round 1, No. 27 safety Malaki Starks (Georgia)
The Ravens always planned for Starks, their first-round pick, to get playing time. But the original plan was to have him rotate in with safeties Ar’Darius Washington and Kyle Hamilton. Washington suffered an Achilles injury in the offseason, leading Starks to start every game.
Although he’s talented and has received praise from coaches and teammates, Starks said he’s still hesitating and needs to trust his instincts more.
He tries to remember not to put too much on himself.
“Realizing that, yes, I am a rookie, and it’s a lot,” Starks said.
In recent games, he’s been a lot better about that. The Ravens’ trade for safety Alohi Gilman has helped a lot as well. While Hamilton has been Starks’ biggest mentor, Gilman has made a difference in the two games he’s played with the Ravens.
With most of the injured veterans returning to the field after the team’s Week 7 bye, the Ravens finally earned their second win. And it was off an improved performance by the defense, making it Starks’ favorite memory so far. It was also a reminder that football should be fun.
Round 2, No. 59 outside linebacker Mike Green (Marshall)
Green’s “Welcome to the NFL” moment happened before he even hit the field. When he walked into the team’s facility and saw “Big C.J.” — C.J. Okoye, a 6-foot-6, 370-pound defensive lineman — Green thought “holy crap.”
Both Green and Okoye have worked themselves into significant roles as first-year Ravens. Green is part of the starting outside linebacker rotation. Okoye, an international pathway program player, worked his way off the practice squad and is now getting regular snaps.
Since arriving, Green has had to learn how to develop a routine and stick to it.
“It’s hard to be consistent, especially in an environment like playing football,” Green said.
The hardest part of the routine is going through the stretching and mobility work, since he said he’s “not a flexible guy.”
Outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy has been a major mentor to him. Van Noy’s absence after injuring his hamstring in a Week 2 win against the Cleveland Browns forced Green into a larger role, one Green said he’s embraced.

Round 3, No. 91 offensive tackle Emery Jones (LSU)
The first half of the season has been brutal for Emery Jones. The Ravens drafted him knowing he had a shoulder injury, but the team expected him to return at some point during training camp. Instead, his rehab carried into the season.
“Just watching the guys go out and practice [while] I had to go lift, honestly, that was one of the hardest parts because how much I love playing football,” Jones said.
Jones made his practice debut Oct. 1, and he was placed on the active roster after the bye. He said on Oct. 22 that his shoulder was holding up well.
Prior to his return, Jones said he was trying to attack the weight room and the mental side of the game. He said he’s confident he can play at this level, and he’s willing to play anywhere along the line. Now, the coaches just need to declare him game-ready.
“My mom just kind of talked to me and told me, ‘[God] didn’t bring you this far to bring you this far,’” Jones said. “Now, I’m finally here, and I’m finally able to play ball, so now I’m just kind of having fun with it.”

Round 4, No. 129 inside linebacker Teddye Buchanan (Cal)
After earning a starting role in Week 2, Buchanan has been thrown into the fire as a rookie, especially after Pro Bowl linebacker Roquan Smith was injured against the Chiefs in Week 4. Buchanan said he takes the trust the team has placed in him seriously.
Over the first half of the season, he feels he’s improved his technique, especially shedding blockers. For as much as he’s absorbed, Buchanan said he’s still learning the “blueprint of the NFL.”
“I’ve started to pick up on some things, but just continuing to learn more and more about different things that I can pick up that are widespread across the league, and then, obviously, each week, diving into each team individually,” Buchanan said.
Buchanan said his “Welcome to the NFL” moment was the very first day of training camp, when he went out and practiced in front of a crowd alongside players he admired growing up. One, Smith, has become a mentor to him on and off the field. Buchanan said he learns from him every day. Smith gifted Buchanan’s mother seats in his field-level box when she came to see her son play against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 6.

Round 5, No. 141 offensive tackle Carson Vinson (Alabama A&M)
It doesn’t matter to Carson Vinson if he’s only getting reps on the practice squad, he’s treating it like he’s starting.
As a result, he said he’s grown a lot as a professional. He’s become more detailed, more focused and better prepared. And as he faces the rest of the season, he plans to continue to lock in on all the small details and techniques that will help him develop from a raw player with tons of potential to a talented NFL lineman.
Through the process, left tackle Ronnie Stanley has been guiding him, he said. Stanley also took right tackle Roger Rosengarten under his wing last year, when Rosengarten was a rookie. Stanley is responsible for Vinson’s favorite memories from the season: Thursday night offensive line dinners.
“It’s a good way to bond with the guys,” Vinson said. “We get to chill outside of football, bond with each other and eat good food.”
The best meal? “We had tikka masala and butter chicken with garlic naan. That was real good.”

Round 6, No. 178 cornerback Bilhal Kone (Western Michigan)
Kone suffered a season-ending knee injury in the Ravens’ preseason opener against the Colts. He was placed on injured reserve ahead of the season.

Round 6, No. 186 kicker Tyler Loop (Arizona)
The Ravens started training camp with a “kicking battle,” but Loop quickly won it. Since then, he’s been the guy, and he’s been called upon in every game this season.
So far, Loop has attempted 13 field goals and made 12. He’s also made all but one of his extra points. Additionally, he’s shown improvement with his kickoffs.
With the change to the kickoff rules that discourages touchbacks, he’s been playing around with different types of kicks. At first, he was inconsistent, placing balls short of the landing zone. He hasn’t had that problem since Week 3.
Last Sunday, the Ravens decided to take a delay-of-game penalty and punt instead of having Loop kick a 57-yard field goal. However, the rookie confidently said he felt prepared if they had made a different decision.
“I feel great,” Loop said after the first six weeks of the season. “I feel like we’ve gotten better, more confident in our process between [long snapper] Nick [Moore], [holder] Jordan [Stout] and I. Our practice preparation in the week has been awesome and fun. It’s been a good time.”
Round 6, No. 203 wide receiver LaJohntay Wester (Colorado)
In his first NFL preseason game, LaJohntay Wester returned a punt 67 yards for a touchdown. He can’t think of any other moment, in college or since, that can compare to that thrill, except maybe the Hail Mary he caught against Baylor.
He’s been working toward popping another big play since. While he hasn’t scored, he pulled off a 35-yard return against the Rams.
Special teams were Wester’s path to the roster, and he’s working hard at it. But he’s had to mature and embrace patience as he waits for his turn on offense. He said wide receivers Zay Flowers and Rashod Bateman, tight end Isaiah Likely and quarterback Lamar Jackson, a fellow South Florida native, have been mentors to him as he learns how to be a professional.

Round 6, No. 210 DL Aeneas Peebles (Virginia Tech)
When Aeneas Peebles took his first rep against Stanley, the reality of the NFL hit him.
“They ran stretch left, and just seeing actually how fast Ronnie Stanley was running and how quick he was, it definitely was a shocker to see an offensive lineman go that fast,” Peebles said.
Peebles is an undersized defensive lineman the Ravens took a chance on, and coaches and teammates raved about him throughout camp, with his position coach, Dennis Johnson, praising his incredible get-off. Veteran defensive lineman Broderick Washington showed Peebles the ropes.
Then Washington, as well as Nnamdi Madubuike and Travis Jones, got hurt. Peebles was called upon to step in.
Since Jones returned to health and the Ravens elevated veteran Brent Urban from the practice squad, Peebles has seen a reduced role. But he saw the field in the team’s first five games, recording three pressures, three tackles and one batted pass across 49 pass rush snaps and 16 run defense snaps, according to Pro Football Focus. He said he has a great support system that believes in him, and he’s going to make sure to maximize every opportunity that comes his way.
Since he arrived, Peebles feels he’s improved his overall athleticism and strength. His top focus through the rest of the season is to continue to develop as a run defender.

Round 6, No. 212 cornerback Robert Longerbeam (Rutgers)
Robert Longerbeam suffered a season-ending knee injury during training camp and was placed on injured reserve.

Round 7, No. 243 offensive guard Garrett Dellinger (LSU)
Garrett Dellinger did not make the team out of camp and signed with the Cleveland Browns as a practice squad player.




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