Ravens draft Kyle Hamilton: Baltimore sticks with best-player available system

SOUTH BEND, IN - SEPTEMBER 11: Notre Dame Fighting Irish safety Kyle Hamilton (14) runs during a game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Toledo Rockets on September 11, 2021 at Notre Dame Stadium, in South Bend, IN. (Photo by Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
By Jeff Zrebiec
Apr 29, 2022

NFL Draft 2022 tracker: Live blog and pick-by-pick analysis

Ravens decision-makers say all the time at this time of year that they draft the best player available, that they are guided by their board not by the roster needs.

The latest evidence came Thursday night when the Ravens used their first-round pick of the 2022 NFL Draft at No. 14 on Notre Dame standout safety Kyle Hamilton, who was considered one of the top players in the draft but slid a bit after a tepid performance at the NFL Scouting Combine.

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Safety was one of the Ravens’ deepest positions after the March free-agent signing of Marcus Williams. However, the Ravens couldn’t resist adding a player of Hamilton’s size and skill set.

Hamilton is 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds. He possesses the size and physicality to play like a linebacker and yet the speed and range to play in a deep safety role.

In three seasons at Notre Dame, Hamilton had 138 tackles, 7 1/2 tackles for loss, eight interceptions and 16 passes defended.

Draft grades: Sheil Kapadia weighs in on the picks
Big board best available: Who’s left from Dane Brugler’s Top 300?

Big Board ranking: Hamilton was ranked No. 6 on Dane Brugler’s list of the top-300 prospects. He was Brugler’s top-ranked safety and his fourth-ranked defensive player.

Introduction: Hamilton showed up to Notre Dame’s pro day ready check a box. NFL teams wanted the 6-foot-4, 217-pound safety to run the 40-yard dash again after a middling performance at the Indianapolis combine. So sure, Hamilton would run if some scouts needed to see this unicorn of a defensive back sprint in a straight line. No problem.

Hamilton cut three-hundredths of a second off his time, down to a 4.56, a solid but not spectacular performance that called into question the value of the metric more than the player. Regardless, consider the box checked. Once Hamilton was done with his run, he spent the day watching former teammates work out while also mingling with Jerome Bettis and Zack Martin, one already a Pro Football Hall of Famer and the other likely headed there.

How he fits: New Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald is going to have a lot of fun utilizing Hamilton along with projected starting safeties Williams and Chuck Clark. Hamilton can line up close to the line of scrimmage and help out against the run game. He can play in the deep safety role. He can also match up against tight ends and bigger receivers.

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Hamilton has been referred to as a “unicorn,” simply because there haven’t been too many safeties that exhibit his combination of skills and physical traits. However, he did not have a standout pre-draft process. His 4.59 40 time was tied for the slowest among safeties at the combine. However, his tape suggests his play speed will work just fine.

An Atlanta native, Hamilton is also a big hitter, an enforcer of sorts who makes receivers pay for going over the middle. The Ravens love versatile defensive backs who play with physicality and athleticism.

Second guess? Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta certainly opened himself up for some criticism down the line by not using his first-round pick to fill one of the team’s biggest needs. A cornerback like Washington’s Trent McDuffie certainly would have made some sense here. So would a pass rusher like Florida State’s Jermaine Johnson. There will be pressure on the team’s decision-makers to add a pass rusher and a cornerback on Day 2.

Rookie impact: Hamilton has all the tools to immediately make an impact from Day 1. The Ravens defensive backfield is loaded with veterans and Hamilton will still need to find his place and a definitive role. But if he solidifies the secondary with his versatility and physicality, if he emerges as a playmaker, it will be very significant for the Ravens.

Depth-chart impact: Hamilton will probably be penciled in as the No. 3 safety behind Williams and Clark. However, Macdonald will find ways to get him on the field as much as possible. His addition does make for a crowded safety group with veteran Tony Jefferson, Geno Stone, 2021 third-round pick Brandon Stephens and Ar’Darius Washington all part of the picture.

Fast evaluation: You can never have enough versatile athletes defensively and that’s what the Ravens are getting with Hamilton. He should help at safety and on special teams. Still, it’s understandable why this pick might not generate a whole lot of excitement among Ravens fans. The Ravens really need a pass rusher or a starting-caliber cornerback. They still have two days to get those pieces. Ultimately, though, if you’re going to call yourself a best-player available drafting team, it’s hard to pass up a talent like Hamilton.

(Photo: Robin Alam / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

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Jeff Zrebiec

Jeff Zrebiec is a senior writer for The Athletic covering the Baltimore Ravens. Before joining The Athletic in 2018, he spent the previous 18 years as a writer for The Baltimore Sun, 13 of them on the Orioles or Ravens beats. The New Jersey native is a graduate of Loyola University in Baltimore. Follow Jeff on Twitter @jeffzrebiec