Kyle Hamilton Ranked the NFL's Best Player Under 25
Since being selected 14th overall by the Ravens in 2022, safety Kyle Hamilton has been one of the best young players in the NFL.
In the opinion of The 33rd Team's Sam Monson and Steve Palazzolo, Hamilton is the best. They each ranked the top 25 players under 25, and both put the 24-year-old Hamilton at No. 1.
"He's a cheat code weapon in the secondary," Monson said. "We've talked about him before as being the best safety in the NFL. What makes him special is we've nit-picked all the other players on this list as having some kind of flaw. Hamilton isn't just the best safety in the NFL, but I think he's arguably the best at every specific element of being a safety.
"He might be the best free safety in the NFL; he might be the best strong safety in the NFL; and he might be the best tight end eraser/slot weapon hybrid. And he's the best at all those things at the same time. Nobody else is like that."
Palazzolo added: "He's just an elite football player at whatever the Ravens want him to do."
Meanwhile, Bleacher Report’s Brent Sobleski listed Hamilton among five candidates who could win their first Defensive Player of the Year award this season.
"Last season, the Ravens defense had a horrific start to the season. However, the unit went from 28th in EPA allowed per dropback to first after Hamilton moved to the back line, according to ESPN's Seth Walder," Sobleski wrote. "While it's an astounding turnaround with Hamilton serving as the catalyst, he's a natural strong safety. The Ravens made sure they found the perfect complementary piece to keep Hamilton where he should be, with this year's first-round selection of Georgia's Malaki Starks.
"With Starks holding up his end of the bargain, Hamilton can resume being the best safety in the game on one of the NFL's top squads."
Only three safeties have been named Defensive Player of the Year over the past 40 years: former Raven Ed Reed (2004), Bob Sanders (2007), and Troy Polamalu (2010).
Rashod Bateman Named Top Candidate to Join Derrick Henry, Zay Flowers As Ravens Offense's 'Big Three'
ESPN’s Bill Barnwell ranked each team's group of offensive playmakers (running backs, wide receivers, and tight ends), and the Ravens came in at No. 8.
That seems a little low for a team with as many offensive weapons as the Ravens. Barnwell praised running back Derrick Henry and wide receiver Zay Flowers but contended that Baltimore doesn't have a "big three." He said tight ends Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely essentially cancel each other out in terms of volume.
The biggest takeaway from Barnwell's analysis is that he believes the most likely candidate to form a "big three" with Henry and Flowers is wide receiver Rashod Bateman.
"He finally had the sort of season he has hinted at since being drafted in the first round four years ago," Barnwell wrote. "Healthy for the entire season, he racked up 756 receiving yards and nine touchdowns while averaging 1.9 yards per route run and finishing 18th in receiver score. The sheer lack of targets to go around in Baltimore's passing game limits Bateman's ability to get his numbers much higher, but if he can maintain this level of efficiency, it will be a boon to an already-explosive Ravens offense."
Ravens Dominate 2025 AFC North All-Star Team Selections
Bleacher Report’s Matt Holder put together an AFC North all-star team ahead of the 2025 season, and his selections reflected the Ravens' status as the favorites to win their third consecutive division crown.
Ten Ravens were named to the 22-player team.
Quarterback Lamar Jackson, Henry, Flowers, left tackle Ronnie Stanley, center Tyler Linderbaum, and right tackle Roger Rosengarten made the offensive team.
Interestingly, the Pittsburgh Steelers' Pat Freiermuth got the nod at tight end. The Ravens having the best tight end duo in the league actually worked against them, as Holder had a similar take on Andrews and Likely as Barnwell.
"Mark Andrews might feel like the obvious pick, but Isaiah Likely has been on the rise recently, so those two will take targets away from each other," Holder wrote.
On defense, tackle Nnamdi Madubuike, linebacker Roquan Smith, nickelback Marlon Humphrey, and Hamilton were selected.
Madubuike Ranked Among Top Seven Defensive Tackles by NFL Insiders
Speaking of Madubuike, he was No. 7 in ESPN’s 2025 defensive tackle rankings as determined by a survey of league executives, coaches, and scouts.
Madubuike, who was fifth in last year's rankings, was ranked as high as No. 4 in the voting this year.
"Madubuike took his star turn in 2023 with 13 sacks and 33 pressures, resulting in a big contract extension last offseason," ESPN's Jeremy Fowler wrote.
Even though Madubuike's sack total dipped to 6.5 last season, he made the Pro Bowl for the second year in a row.
"Still has elite burst and explosion," an NFL personnel evaluator said.
Quick Hits
Yesterday's Most Read: Late for Work: LeSean McCoy Says Ravens Are 'Flawless'
- Hamilton and Likely were named to NFL.com’s Tom Blair’s best team money can buy under the 2025 salary cap.
