After his first preseason, Baltimore Ravens rookie safety Kyle Hamilton is ready for the NFL season to finally start.
Taken as the first safety in the 2022 draft, the Ravens are expecting the prospect out of Notre Dame to be their starting safety of the future and he’s getting an opportunity from the get-go.
In an odd twist, Hamilton will get to face a quarterback in Joe Flacco whom he’s aware has a strong connection to the franchise he’ll be debuting for Sunday.
“I was 11 when they won the Super Bowl (in) 2012.” He told BaltimoreRavens.com recently. “I know he played here, obviously.”
Except for this time, Flacco will be slinging the ball for the New York Jets. While Hamilton isn’t starting on the depth chart (those honors go to veterans Chuck Clark and Marcus Williams), the Ravens plan to use three-safety defenses at times to throw off opposing offenses as defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald will figure out any way he can employ Hamilton’s versatile 6’4, 220-pound frame to his team’s advantage.
The expectations for Hamilton are high this season for a reason as he was named consensus All-American last season at Notre Dame.
Even head coach John Harbaugh is expecting the rookie to make an impact, saying, “He’s going to play in a lot of different spots.” People in the media are even setting lofty goals for Hamilton with NFL Network’s Kyle Brandt predicting he’ll win the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year.
Kyle Hamilton already acts like he’s been around the NFL for some time, something the veteran Marcus Williams has already noticed.
“He’s not playing like a rookie right now, he’s playing like he’s been here and doing it, and that’s impressive,” Williams noted.
Now, all Hamilton needs to do is wait for that first snap to come this Sunday against the Jets.
