There’s beauty in being one of the lesser-mentioned weapons on a powerful roster. Take the Baltimore Ravens, for instance. They’re loaded from top to bottom with stars or stars in the making, seemingly at every position. They return 11 Pro Bowlers for Heaven’s sake.
That’s why we can spend hours discussing Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry, and Zay Flowers. Nnamdi Madubuike, Roquan Smith, and Kyle Hamilton are among the stars who spotlight an imposing defense.
Advertisement
New additions, like veterans Jaire Alexander and DeAndre Hopkins, coupled with rookies Mike Green and Malaki Starks, make it almost impossible to save room for a Trenton Simpson discussion. It also didn’t help that Simpson didn’t offer the quality of play expected, as he eventually lost snaps to Malik Harrison and Chris Board.
Trenton Simpson is named as an expected Ravens X factor.
Trenton Simpson received a grade of 6.24 in his NFL.com pre-draft prospect profile, indicating that he is expected to “eventually be an average starter.” ESPN’s Ben Solak has identified him as a potential X factor for the Ravens in the upcoming 2025-26 football season.
“With another offseason to catch up on the mental aspects of the game, the Ravens are giving Simpson the reins once again. Board and Harrison left in free agency, leaving Simpson unimpeded as the starter next to Smith. Baltimore had the best defense in the league down the back half of last season, when Simpson was largely shelved. So expect opposing offenses to immediately try to attack him in space and force him to find the ball quickly. He needs to rise to the call in a big way for the Ravens to retain their form.”
Simpson, a six-foot-two, 235-pounder, entered the NFL with starting experience at inside and outside linebacker. That was part of what made him a must-have on quite a few draft boards. He appeared in 15 games as a rookie, but after being tossed in the starting lineup for his sophomore campaign, the feedback was lukewarm.
Advertisement
Size sometimes worked against him. However, his lack of experience was a concern, but he has seemingly worked his way back into the Ravens’ starting lineup.
He is again expected to line up Roquan Smith. That alone brings pressure, but if Simpson can live up to that, the second level of Baltimore’s defensive unit can be even better than expected.
This article originally appeared on Ravens Wire: Under-the-radar Ravens defender steps into a brighter NFL spotlight