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As the curious case of the Baltimore Ravens carries on into this season, their draft class from the 2022 NFL Draft needs to be spot-on, especially with how much the AFC has leveled up this offseason to compete against one another. While offense has dominated the transaction wire lately, it is the defensive side of the ball, specifically Georgia’s Lewis Cine, on which the Ravens should focus.
After having signed former Saints safety Marcus Williams this offseason, the Ravens have retooled their secondary. Pairing Williams with Marcus Peters and Marlon Humphrey helped create one of the league’s better secondaries, a much-needed element with how strong their AFC competition looks to be in the passing game.
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Lewis Cine Is Best Fit For The Ravens In 2022 NFL Draft
1. Role Variability
After having been an integral member of the strong Georgia defense, Cine is looking to make the jump to the NFL a successful one. With his draft stock situated as a fringe Day 1 prospect, the Ravens would be an excellent option to select him early.
While using their first-round selection (#14) on him is unlikely, Baltimore is a likely candidate to move around the board, which makes his selection likelier at either the 45th overall pick (2nd round) or earlier, reliant on a trade-up scenario with Baltimore moving earlier to select Cine.
For his role in the defense, Cine has plenty of experience all over the field, playing in single-high and double-safety coverages as well as down in the box as a sub-package linebacker. With Baltimore needing to have their best secondary members on the field at all times, Cine’s flexibility will help keep him out there in most situations.
2. Tackling Skills
To be strong when playing down in the box means that you need to be a sure-fire tackler, something that is certainly a strong suit of Cine’s. Based on his aggression and how he tracks the ball during rushing situations, it helps showcase how he can help down near the line of scrimmage.
The Ravens lost three key members (Anthony Averett, Chris Westry, and Tavon Young) to free agency this offseason, and with Jimmy Smith likely playing his final season in the league, the secondary needs an infusion of young talent – the kind of player that Cine is is a perfect building block to establish for this defense moving forward.
3. Overall Capabilities
Cine has overall been a slow riser during the draft process, but his skills are there. Not necessarily flashy in anything that he does, the former Bulldog is just that on the field – a bulldog.
The kind of identity that this Ravens defense is known for has lost a bit of its edge over the years after the likes of Ray Lewis and Ed Reed have retired. While Cine is absolutely not on the same level of either of those players and does not look to have a ceiling that will reach them, he certainly can help re-establish a sense of identity and grit for Baltimore.
Being a jack of all trades but a master of none can help get you on the field in the NFL, and for a safety like Cine, he certainly looks to fill that role well. With Williams taking over the lead role from a safety position and Chuck Clark currently penciled in as this team’s starter opposite Williams, Cine could be worked in somewhat slowly, helping accelerate his understanding of the game while not exposing him too much right out of the gate.
