Baltimore Ravens: 2015 Cornerback Grades

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The Baltimore Ravens expected much better play from their cornerbacks in 2015, who finished last in the NFL in interceptions.

2015 Grades: QB | RB | WR | TE | OL | DL | LB | CB

We have been criticizing the Baltimore Ravens for years about their lack of playmakers on offense at the wide receiver. We should be more upset with the lack of playmakers in the secondary.

It has been two seasons of terrible play from the defensive backfield. Injuries have played a key factor in the tragedy at corner, but they are not making plays either. Baltimore only picked off six passes on the entire season, which was last in the league. What makes those numbers more troubling is that five players around the league had as many or more interceptions than the entire Ravens secondary.

Many thought that the Ravens made all the right moves last offseason to correct the problems from rue previous year. They brought in Kendrick Lewis and Kyle Arrington, who were supposed to fill the holes at safety and nickel corner. They drafted Tray Walker, a prospect they knew needed some work, but has the size and speed similar to Richard Sherman and Sean Smith. They would have Jimmy Smith and Lardarius Webb both healthy. None of that played out according to plan.

Webb did not pass the conditioning test on the opening day of training camp and later hampered by a hamstring injury most of the preseason. Lewis and Arrington were major disappointments. Smith was the only played that had a decent season, coming up with three of the team’s six interceptions. The team tried several different combinations in the secondary, picking up several guys from waivers and making a trade for a corner as well.

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While the secondary was a problem most of the season, but seemed to turn a corner after the bye in Week 9. The secondary gave up 250 passing yards in six of the first eight games, including 422 passing yards against in the loss to the Cleveland Browns. Following the week off, the Ravens only had two such games in the final eight contests, with the 301 yards from Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks being the highest total of the second half of the season. In fact, the Ravens defense held their opponents to under 200 yards passing in six games after the bye.

The shift in numbers gives the Ravens hope that they can turn their defensive effort around. Baltimore finished 10th in the NFL in passing defense. That’s a shocking statistic if you watched how bad the secondary played at times. The new era of the NFL is built to be a passing league and the numbers around the league prove it.

The Ravens have concerns at safety as well, but we will highlight their struggles in the next coming days. There are some names you might have forgotten, so here are the grades for the Ravens cornerbacks.

*All players stats provided are with the Ravens. Several played for multiple teams, but those numbers are not included.

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