Baltimore Ravens: Chykie Brown, Asa Jackson Battling For Third Cornerback Spot

After Aaron Ross suffered an Achilles injury while running his conditioning test, the doors have opened for guys such as third-year corners Asa Jackson and Chykie Brown. So far this camp, they have proved to be more worthy candidates to take the spot than recently acquired Dominique Franks.

Brown entered camp as the leader, but Jackson has seemed to have closed the gap a little. “I’m going to talk about Asa first,” Ravens Secondary Coach Steve Spagnuolo said. “He has really jumped out there and impressed everybody – players, coaches. He’s doing a lot of things we knew he could do.”

The reason that Jackson hasn’t been able to emerge in his first two years was because of the suspensions he served. In 2012, he missed four games and last year he missed half the season all due to suspensions. Both suspensions were the result of the use of Adderall.

Jan 12, 2013; Denver, CO, USA; Baltimore Ravens cornerback Asa Jackson (25) against the Denver Broncos during the AFC divisional round playoff game at Sports Authority Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

However, according to Spagnuolo, Jackson has matured. “He’s a feisty player, and people are going to knock him because of his lack of height, but he plays big. He’s been really good,” Spagnuolo said.

While Jackson has been the bigger story and has emerged of late, Chykie Brown still has the lead. As long as he continues to perform well in training camp and impress the Ravens staff, he will grab the spot.

However, I wouldn’t totally rule Dominique Franks out of the equation. The only reason that he is currently behind in the battle is because he got a late start. He failed to pass the conditioning test several times and was not activated off the non-football list until Sunday – three days after the start of camp.