Few NFL veterans know what it takes to make the grade in the pros as well as Baltimore Ravens outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy, and the two-time Super Bowl champion isn’t about to hype up one of the team’s prime picks in the 2025 draft.
Instead, Van Noy won’t even call Mike Green “Mike” “until he makes a couple plays when it really matters.” Van Noy revealed on “The KVN Show” (h/t Ravens Vault co-host Bobby Trosset) he insists on calling former Marshall pass-rusher Green “Michael,” while the rookie proves himself.
It’s a challenge of sorts from a senior pro to a highly touted first-year player drafted in the second round to add some juice to the Ravens’ pass rush. Green has the credentials at the collegiate level, where he led the nation in sacks last season, but the 22-year-old will need to put it all together against tougher competition.
The raw talent is there, but the Ravens can’t rely on potential alone. Fortunately, there are other up and coming edge-rushers in the rotation positioned to support Van Noy.
Ravens Counting On Immediate Impact from Mike Green
Eric DeCosta used the 59th pick to take Green for several reasons. Not least because the general manager’s recent attempts to find a marquee young pass-rusher with premium draft capital haven’t exactly gone to plan.
DeCosta selected Odafe Oweh 31st overall in 2021, and while the player finally broke double-digit sacks last season, he’s struggled for consistency and dominance. Oweh is also a pending free agent the Ravens may need to replace.
That need will be weighed against David Ojabo’s struggles to get healthy. The second-round pick in 2022 missed almost his entire rookie season after tearing his Achilles at Michigan’s pro day, then Ojabo was beset by a torn ACL in Week 3 of his second campaign with the Ravens.
Ojabo has since struggled just to be active, leaving Van Noy without many credible running mates at the edges of the front seven. It’s a problem Green can solve if he emulates plays like this sack against Ohio State, when he sold “his rush inside to bait the blocker & shorten the edge, then chop/spins back outside,” according to Aaron Day of DLineVids.
This is evidence Green is entering the big league already equipped with a sophisticated rush plan. He’s added to a strong base by taking advice from a key member of the Ravens’ legendary 2000 defense.
Green has transferable skills sure to lead to big plays once he adjusts to the speed and physicality. Fortunately, there were signs in preseason Green will thrive.
Signs like him turning “30 pass-rush snaps” into “5 total pressures (16.7%)” and a “30.0% pass-rush win rate” through his first two exhibition games, per Jon Macri of Pro Football Focus.
The win rate should encourage the Ravens most, but as Van Noy says, true belief will come from Green winning matchups when the stakes are higher.
Kyle Van Noy Needs a New Supporting Act
Van Noy carried the pass-rush load mostly alone last season, at least from the edges, but he needs a new supporting act. Somebody who can also help the Ravens overcome their biggest weakness defensively, a flaw quantified by hidden numbers.
Maybe Oweh gets to quarterbacks more often on a game by game basis. Perhaps Ojabo stays healthy and finally lives up to his draft status.
It’s also possible an unlikely centerpiece makes a starting role his own. There’s even room left for 2024 NFL draft third-round pick Adisa Isaac to emerge as a force.
Any of these scenarios would refresh Baltimore’s pass rush, but none would have the same upside as Green dominating from the start. He has the potential to take over games, provided Green takes his cue from Van Noy, who already knows how to motivate the rookie.
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