One month ago, everything you could find to read about the Baltimore Ravens was an obituary for their season. The preseason Super Bowl favorites were 1-5, 2-time NFL MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson was hurt and the defense was being looked at as possibly the NFL’s worst.
What a difference a month makes. The Ravens are now 4-5 and staring down a favorable final stretch of 8 games, Jackson is back and their defense is making plays all of a sudden.
Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox thinks one player on that defense, rookie edge rusher Mike Green, could be the team’s “Breakout Star” in a stretch run that could lift Baltimore in to the playoffs.
“The Baltimore Ravens defense struggled mightily early in the season, but it has played far better in the three games since the bye,” Knox wrote on November 13. “So has rookie pass-rusher Mike Green, who has logged 1.5 sacks, two tackles for loss and five quarterback hits in that span. If Baltimore’s defense continues to ascend — and the Ravens climb back into the playoff mix — Green will have a chance to emerge as a defensive star.”
Off-Field Issues Caused Draft Stock to Plummet
Most mock drafts had Green projected as a first round pick in 2025 but off field issues caused him to slip to the Ravens with the No. 59 overall pick.
Green led the FBS with 17.0 sacks in 2024 and led Marshall to its first Sun Belt Conference championship. He was masterful from beginning to end, with sacks in 10 out of 13 games and 4 multi-sack games.
Green, 6-foot-4 and 250 pounds, played the first 2 seasons of his college career at Virginia before he transferred to Marshall for his last 2 seasons, with 43 tackles and 4.5 sacks in 2023.
The Ravens came under fire for picking Green, who was accused of sexual assault in both high school and college but never charged with any crimes.
“Baltimore Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta defended selecting Marshall edge rusher Mike Green in the second round of the NFL draft Friday, saying they took him with the No. 59 pick after investigating two sexual assault allegations in his past,” ESPN’s Jamison Hensley wrote on April 26. “At the NFL combine in February, Green said that he was accused of sexual assault at Virginia, leading to his transfer to Marshall, and that he had faced another sexual assault allegation in high school. Green was never charged and insisted he did nothing wrong.”
Ravens Considered Elite Defense in Preseason
The Ravens finished second in the NFL with 54.0 sacks in 2024 and entered the season considered one of the NFL’s elite defensive units.
They’ve been forced to re-invent themselves because of injuries, with the most critical of those being the loss of NFL All-Pro defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike to a season-ending neck injury against the Cleveland Browns in Week 2.
Green didn’t have his first career sack until Week 6 against the Los Angeles Rams.
“He comes out here every day, busts his tail off, you’re starting to see his production to start to go up and his ability to really start showing,” Ravens defensive coordinator Zach Orr said on November 13.
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