Baltimore Ravens Safeties Season Grades

Nov 9, 2014; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Ravens safety Will Hill (33) reacts after knocking down a pass against the Tennessee Titans at M&T Bank Stadium. The Ravens won 21-7. Mandatory Credit: Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports

As bad as the cornerback situation was, the Baltimore Ravens safeties may have been even worse at the start of the season. Darian Stewart and Matt Elam, two strong safeties limited in coverage, tried to work together as a tandem, which failed catastrophically.

From there, a host of guys including Jeromy Miles, Terrence Brooks and Will Hill tried to fill the void. Only Hill stood out.

More on that below as we grade the Baltimore Ravens safeties.

Darian Stewart – C

At his best, Darian Stewart was a solid player, keeping passes in front of him and making plays in the ground game. At his worst, though, Stewart was an absolute disaster, taking bad pursuit angles and looking absolutely clueless in the deep passing game. Unfortunately, Stewart did not make enough big plays to offset his mistakes.

Stewart was at his best in the box as an eighth run defender, and he was decent covering slower tight ends. Ask him to play deep safety, though, and trouble was on the way. He got beat deep too often, something a deep safety should never do, and he didn’t have the range to make up for his mistakes.

All in all, Stewart proved to be a replacement-level starter at strong safety this year. In a pinch, he can start and not make a fool of himself most of the time, but he won’t elevate a defense. The Ravens should make replacing him an offseason priority.

Will Hill – A

Will Hill is a defensive coordinator’s dream. He was the Ravens best deep safety from the moment he stepped onto the field in Week 7, and he also proved to be their most reliable and explosive tackler. Hill is a weapon with a skill set reminiscent of Troy Polamalu, with the range and instincts to play deep and the explosiveness and aggressiveness to make plays underneath as well.

Hill did a great job guarding Jimmy Graham Week 12 against the New Orleans Saints, often being tasked with playing Graham one-on-one. He wasn’t quite as effective against Rob Gronkowski in the playoffs, but he held his own more often than not.

The Ravens would be fools to not re-sign Hill. The guy plays like a Raven and can play so many roles. If he stays clean off the field, Hill could become a franchise-type player.

Jeromy Miles – B

Among the more unexpected surprises of the 2014 was Jeromy Miles playing well on defense. Stewart’s and Elam’s struggles opened an opportunity for Miles, who established himself as one of the team’s steadier options at safety. Like Stewart, Miles was never going to be a playmaker, but he was much more steady than any safety not named Will Hill.

Miles had veteran savvy that kept him in the right position more often than not. His lack of range hurt him at times, but all in all, Miles was the best option next to Will Hill for much of the year. That really was unexpected.

Matt Elam – F

There was no bigger disappointment in Baltimore than Matt Elam, and that is hardly a scathing enough assessment.