Kyle Hamilton, Ja'Kobi Lane, Jesse Minter Predicted to Win Major Awards
The “Good Morning Football” hosts predicted this season's individual award winners, and the Ravens were well-represented.
Safety Kyle Hamilton was Manti Te'o's pick for Defensive Player of the Year, while Jamie Erdahl went with wide receiver Ja'Kobi Lane for Offensive Rookie of the Year and Head Coach Jesse Minter for Coach of the Year.
"There's a lot of reports coming out of training camp of how Jesse Minter's going to use this man," Te'o said of Hamilton. "Obviously, you have [safety] Derwin James from the Chargers, that's where Jesse Minter was the defensive coordinator at. He knows how to use Kyle Hamilton. Kyle Hamilton plays behind the line of scrimmage, he plays beyond the line of scrimmage, he intercepts the ball, he blitzes off the edge. We just need him to get his hands on the ball more often, and I think that's one thing he's going to do a lot better this year."
Hamilton is an unconventional pick because safeties rarely win the award. Only three safeties have been named Defensive Player of the Year over the past 40 years: former Raven Ed Reed (2004), the Indianapolis Colts' Bob Sanders (2007), and the Pittsburgh Steelers' Troy Polamalu (2010).
Speaking of unconventional picks, Erdahl tabbing Lane for Offensive Rookie of the Year is outside the box because no Ravens player has won the award and only a handful of Ravens wide receivers have made a significant impact as rookies.
"I'm watching the preseason, and I'm like, 'Who is that huge dude out there?'" Erdahl said of Lane. "Don't try to tell me because they have Zay Flowers this guy can't be rookie of the year. He's a different cat – 6-4, 200."
Regarding her pick of Minter for Coach of the Year, Erdahl said: "[The Ravens have] ridiculous talent [on defense]. Pair that with this man's defensive mindset and the fact that he has the awareness and humility to go out and hire a man in Declan Doyle to call offenses, which means he can go hands off the steering wheel with Lamar Jackson and say … 'I am going to cook on this defense,' therefore taking over a building that he was in with [John Harbaugh} and returning them to defensive excellence and prowess."
Jackson Finishes a Distant Fifth in NFL Insiders' Voting for 2026's Top Quarterbacks
Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer asked 104 NFL coaches and executives to rank who they think will be the top five quarterbacks at the end of this season.
Jackson came in fifth place, one spot lower than his placement in both last year's and the previous year's polls. The two-time MVP received only one first-place vote and was not ranked among the top five on 57 ballots.
"His voting numbers are down significantly from the past two years, probably due to injuries last year," Breer wrote. "He's intriguing, too, because 2027 will be a contract year, and he has a new head coach, Jesse Minter, and offensive coordinator, Declan Doyle."
Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen was the runaway winner, as he got 49 first-place votes and appeared on 101 ballots for a total of 427 points. The Los Angeles Rams' Matthew Stafford (356) was No. 2, followed by the Kansas City Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes (247) and Cincinnati Bengals' Joe Burrow (218), who were all well ahead of Jackson (96.5 points).
We'll see how it plays out, but if Jackson stays healthy this season, his placement in these and other rankings (especially the NFL Top 100), may not age well.
Three Reasons Ravens Won't Win the Super Bowl
After The Baltimore Banner's Jonas Shaffer identified 10 reasons why the Ravens can win the Super Bowl (as noted in Late for Work on Monday), Shaffer came up with 10 reasons why they won't.
Here's a look at three:
History says Minter will have to wait.
"Only two first-time head coaches in league history have won a Super Bowl. George Seifert, whom the San Francisco 49ers promoted from defensive coordinator to head coach in 1989 after the legendary Bill Walsh moved to the front office, was the most recent. Led by quarterback Joe Montana, Seifert's 49ers went 14-2 and repeated as Super Bowl champions.
"Two decades earlier, in 1970, coach Don McCafferty and quarterback Johnny Unitas powered the Baltimore Colts to an 11-2-1 record and a win in Super Bowl V over the Dallas Cowboys. McCafferty had been promoted to replace the also-legendary Don Shula, who left to coach the Miami Dolphins."
Injuries are always a risk.
"Try as they might, the Ravens can't avoid injuries. They've already lost center Danny Pinter to a season-ending torn patellar tendon. And a handful of stars on the roster have injury histories that could put them at further risk.
"Jackson dealt with a string of lower-body injuries last year and is one of the NFL's lighter quarterbacks. Flowers is small for the position, too. Running back Derrick Henry has been nearly indestructible over his career, but at 32, his age makes him more vulnerable than ever. [Defensive tackle] Nnamdi Madubuike is returning from a neck injury that nearly ended his career. [Outside linebacker] Trey Hendrickson suffered hip and back injuries last year before undergoing season-ending core muscle surgery. And [cornerback] Marlon Humphrey has dealt with a string of minor injuries over the past three seasons."
The AFC is deep and dangerous.
"Elite defenses? The Houston Texans could have the NFL's best, powered by a devastating front and take-no-prisoners attitude. The Denver Broncos topped the NFL in sacks last year and have maybe the league's best cornerback, Patrick Surtain II. The Jacksonville Jaguars had a top-five defense over the second half of last season and will add a fully operational Travis Hunter to their secondary. The Steelers have one of the league's best defensive fronts.
"Elite offenses? The Buffalo Bills' Josh Allen has piloted them before without much receiver talent; now he has DJ Moore to target out wide. The New England Patriots' Drake Maye, the runner-up in NFL Most Valuable Player voting last year, got an upgraded receiving corps and offensive line. The Los Angeles Chargers' Justin Herbert has never had an offensive coordinator as creative as Mike McDaniel. The Bengals might finally have an offensive line that can reliably protect Joe Burrow. Trevor Lawrence could take another step forward in Year 2 in Jacksonville under coach Liam Cohen. Oh, and the Kansas City Chiefs still have Patrick Mahomes, somehow back from a season-ending knee injury and healthy enough to start Week 1."
Pundit Predicts Ravens Will Miss Playoffs Again
Not only does FOX Sports analyst Eric Mangini not think the Ravens will win the Super Bowl, he predicted they'll miss the playoffs for the second year in a row.
In his AFC playoff predictions, Mangini picked the Bengals to win the AFC North, and the Broncos, Chiefs, and Bills to earn wild-card berths.
"It's not that I don't like the Ravens. I'm not sure how it's going to work with a new offensive coordinator, and I do struggle with the idea of changing things up dramatically for a guy who has won the MVP twice," Mangini said on FS1’s “First Things First.” "So there's going to be a learning curve there offensively. With a new head coach, there's a learning curve from that perspective as well."
History has shown that Jackson does pretty well with new offensive coordinators. The last two times Jackson worked with a new OC – Greg Roman in 2019 and Todd Monken in 2023 – he took home the MVP award.
Quick Hits
- The Ravens are No. 7 in The Ringer’s power rankings.
