Baltimore Ravens: Earl Thomas Replacement DeShon Elliott Under Huge Pressure

The Baltimore Ravens have one of the better secondaries in the NFL but, following the release of Earl Thomas, appear vulnerable at the free safety position, where former sixth-round pick DeShon Elliott will be under significant pressure to perform.

Thomas was released on Sunday for “personal conduct that has “adversely affected the Baltimore Ravens” following an altercation with fellow safety Chuck Clark at practice.

Head coach John Harbaugh confirmed that Elliott is poised to take over at the position, handing an opportunity to a promising player who has had horrible luck with injuries to this point in his career.

A broken forearm sustained in a preseason game robbed Elliott of his rookie season, before a season-ending knee injury cut short his second year in the league.

Now Elliott will finally get his chance to prove he is an NFL starter who should have been selected much earlier in the 2018 draft. He will have little time to experience growing pains as the Ravens look to put the disappointing end to their 2019 season behind them and make another run at a third Super Bowl title.

Defense has proven to be much less consistent than offense on a year-to-year basis and the Ravens’ unit on that side of the ball is one primed for regression.

Baltimore’s defense finished the 2019 season ranked fourth in Football Outsiders’ DVOA metric, which measures efficiency by comparing success on every play to a league average based on situation and opponent.

However, the Ravens were extremely reliant on turnovers. They ranked fifth in the league in turnovers per drive in 2019, according to Football Outsiders, having been 24th in that same statistic a year earlier.

It is not realistic for the Ravens to expect to excel in creating turnovers to such an extent in 2020. For them to do so, they will need greater contributions from their front seven in terms of rushing the passer.

Baltimore franchise tagged Matt Judon after he led the team with 9.5 sacks in 2019. Tyus Bowser was next with 5 but pass rusher Jaylon Ferguson, selected in the third round, had just 2.5 sacks as a rookie.

The Ravens’ Defensive Line was middle of the pick as it finished 15th in the league in Football Outsiders’ Adjusted Sack Rate. They bolstered their defensive front with the acquisitions of Calais Campbell and Derek Wolfe and the selection of Justin Madubuike in the third round of this year’s draft but, if the Ravens do not improve in that regard in 2020, the challenge facing Elliott will be significantly more difficult.

Elliott does, however, have plenty of talent around him in the secondary to make his life easier. Clark provides a dependable presence at strong safety while the two boundary corner spots are manned by elite talents in the form of three-time Pro Bowler Marcus Peters and Marlon Humphrey, who was a first-team All-Pro last season.

The addition of Patrick Queen, arguably the best coverage linebacker in the 2020 draft, in the first round should also be a boost to the pass defense if he carries his play from his final season with LSU into his rookie year.

But Baltimore is relying on a lot of new additions to keep its defense playing at its 2019 level. While releasing Thomas may maintain locker room harmony, it is a move that has thrown another relative unknown into the mix by forcing the Ravens to depend on a safety who has had few chances to prove himself in the pros.

Opportunity is finally knocking for Elliott and, if the Ravens defense is to be the force it was in 2019, it is one he cannot afford to waste.