It’s like reading the same book over and over and finding a new story every time. Discussing the Baltimore Ravens‘ addition of Jaire Alexander never gets old. It’s a take that never seems to lose its steam.

Fine wines age. Conversations about the possibilities with a defense like this seemingly always lead us to a familiar question.

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When in the heck does the regular season start again?

Picture Baltimore’s offense when given additional opportunities. Imagine a secondary with seemingly no weakness. That may be what Zachary Orr, Chuck Pagano, and the Ravens defense have now.

Recently, Bleacher Report offered one reason why every NFL team shouldn’t be overlooked. Jaire Alexander gets the nod for elevating and strengthening a potential lights-out secondary.

“Baltimore been an elite offensive team in recent years, but its defense left something to be desired in 2024, finishing outside the top quarter of the league in both yards and points allowed while having one of the league’s most porous pass defenses for a long stretch of the campaign.”

Alex Kay, the writer of this one, expressed that Orr believes the Ravens will be much better on defense and is “light years ahead” of where it was at this same time last season. He also mentions Jaire Alexander, painting him as a potential ‘final piece’ in a secondary that now consists of five former first-round draft picks.

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What’s left out of Kay’s take and so many others is that the Ravens’ defense improved steadily last season. The unit we saw at season’s end wasn’t the same one that began the campaign. Marlon Humphrey was a Pro Bowler last season. Alexander is a former All-Pro. Malaki Starks was drafted, and he and Kyle Hamilton comprise what might be the NFL’s best safety tandem.

Eric DeCosta and staff approached the offseason with a goal: improve the secondary. Mission accomplished. It should be much harder to pass against this team this season. A tough test comes early. This season begins where the most recent one ended. Week 1 features a game vs. the Buffalo Bills in upstate New York.

This article originally appeared on Ravens Wire: Jaire Alexander’s addition could get Baltimore to the Super Bowl