The Opening Drive, 8/14: Five Ravens with the Most to Prove Saturday
Saturday’s preseason opener won’t mean anything in the standings, but for these five Ravens, it could mean everything from winning a starting job to proving that training-camp hype is real.
(Photo: Courtesy of Shawn Hubbard, Baltimore Ravens, baltimoreravens.com)
Preseason football is always a little weird. The score doesn’t matter, most established starters won’t play much — if at all — and whatever happens Saturday night will largely be forgotten by the time Week 1 rolls around. But for the players fighting for roles, trying to climb the depth chart or attempting to turn a strong training camp into something tangible, these games absolutely matter.
That’s especially true for a Ravens roster with several legitimate competitions still unfolding. Some players are trying to win starting jobs, others are trying to prove their development is real, and one rookie wide receiver is trying to show that the hype coming out of Owings Mills can translate when the jerseys change colours. With that in mind, these are the five Ravens I’ll have my eyes on against Philadelphia.
1) Ja’Kobi Lane, WR — Putting the Hype on Tape
This one might seem unfair, so let me be crystal clear: Ja’Kobi Lane isn’t under pressure in the traditional sense. He isn’t fighting for his roster spot, and one bad preseason game isn’t suddenly going to erase everything he’s accomplished throughout training camp. But when you generate this much hype in August, eventually everyone wants to see it translate to a game.
Ravens fans have spent decades waiting for a mid-round receiver to develop into a legitimate contributor. We’ve had plenty of camp darlings along the way — Jordan Lasley, Jaleel Scott, Tandon Doss, Tim White — and the list is almost as depressing as the quarterbacks who started for Cleveland over the last two decades. That history is part of what makes Lane so fascinating. He has legitimate NFL measurables, outstanding ball-tracking ability and a knack for adjusting to throws that has already produced some ridiculous circus catches in camp.
The question surrounding Lane coming out of USC was whether he could consistently handle NFL physicality. It certainly hasn’t caused him many problems in Owings Mills, but Saturday gives us our first opportunity to see him against somebody wearing a different jersey. The hype is already there. Now it’s time to start putting it on tape.
