Chances are, last season, you were busy with the Baltimore Ravens. That being the case, you didn’t watch a second of the Marshall Thundering Herd, but for those football die-hards, you’re still very much aware of who Mike Green is. He was a terror, one who stacked up a gang of tackles (81) and sacks (17) in his final NCAA season.

Splash plays were seemingly the norm as he also forced three fumbles and broke up two passes. Most had initially projected him as one of the NFL Draft’s top edge rushers. He was given first-round grades. We know why he slid. We’ve dedicated plenty of time to discussing why, but at present, he’s trying to make the most of an opportunity.

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Many NFL teams took Green off their draft boards. Baltimore rolled the dice, making him the 59th selection in the most recent NFL Draft. That decision seems to be paying early dividends as he’s flashing the talent that initially caught everyone’s attention.

Mike Green is reminding everyone why he was a top prospect

Baltimore entered the most recent selection meeting knowing they needed help at edge rusher. It appears reinforcements have come. Former Raven Qadry Ismail compared him to Elvis Dumervil.

Green shined in Baltimore’s joint practices with the Indianapolis Colts, ending the last drill by tallying a sack. The hits kept coming during the preseason opener as he took the field for 33 defensive snaps. In total, he notched two tackles. One was of the solo variety, but the highlight of the night came as he and Adisa Isaac met in the backfield to wreak havoc and bring Anthony Richardson to the turf.

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Isaac gets credit for the sack on this one. It appears, however, that Ismail disagrees.

Sorry, Mr. Ismail. That sack should be credited to Isaac. We get where you’re coming from, though.

The rookie is exciting, and there’s a buzz building around him and this Ravens pass rush. If he keeps this up and the momentum carries into the games that count against the win-loss total. There won’t be stopping the hype train surrounding this exciting rookie, that is, if there’s any hope of stopping it already.

This article originally appeared on Ravens Wire: Early signs point to Ravens’ rookie living up to NFL draft hype