Anthony Weaver will be bringing in a new defensive look, a defense that could look similar to what the Baltimore Ravens operated in 2023. For the defense to be at its peak, it needs a player in the secondary who could play any position and cover any position at any given time. Safety Kyle Hamilton was the chess piece for the Ravens last year and had a career year this past year, as he made all-pro. He logged in 81 total tackles, three sacks, four interceptions, and one touchdown. Hamilton played everywhere, from nickel cornerback to linebacker to single-high safety. He could do it all at a high level.
“”Kyle Hamilton is the ultimate chess piece; I think he’s one of the top players in the league,” Orr said this past week, via team transcript. “My goal for him is to one day win [the] defensive MVP — here — of the league. I think he has that type of talent; he has that type of work ethic; he’s that type of person.”” (Gordon, 2024).
Miami has a player similar to that: Jalen Ramsey.
Jalen Ramsey was asked last season to only focus on being a perimeter cornerback. He will be asked to play multiple roles to attack the offense in this new defense. This won’t be the first time he is asked to play this role, as he was an all-pro defensive back with the Los Angeles Rams playing the ultimate chess piece role.
Ramsey is physical and loves to tackle, a trait needed if you play nickel cornerback or even linebacker to pass rusher. He is not afraid to stick his nose in the trenches to make a play, as he will also be asked to blitz as well. He could match up with running backs coming out of the backfield and cover slot-wide receivers.
He will still play perimeter cornerback if needed, as he projects to cover the best offensive player on the other team. That could either be a wide receiver or a tight end. Ramsey loves the challenge of facing the opponent’s best offensive player and would not have any issues covering that player either in the slot or outside.
Putting Ramsey in the ultimate chess piece role plays to the strength of the Miami defense, which has great depth at the cornerback position. The starting cornerbacks are Jalen Ramsey and Kendall Fuller, while the safety duo will be Jordan Poyer and Jevon Holland. In a pass-happy league, most teams play with three wide receiver sets. This means either Cam Smith or Kader Kohou will play a significant role. This is where Ramsey’s all around skills come in to play.
If the best offensive player likes to play on the perimeter most of the time, Ramsey will stay outside, and we will sub in Kader Kohou to play the nickel back. If the offensive player likes to play in the slot more, Ramsey could go inside, and Cam Smith could come in and play on the perimeter. Playing Kohou and Smith at their strengths while Ramsey plays everywhere makes the defense much better.
Ramsey is ready to embrace this new role, and I am excited to see how it plays out.
References
Gordon, G. (2024, May 26). New Ravens, DC Zach Orr on “ultimate chess piece” Kyle Hamilton: “I think he’s one of the top players in the league.” NFL.com. https://www.nfl.com/news/new-ravens-dc-zach-orr-on-ultimate-chess-piece-kyle-hamilton-i-think-he-s-one-of-the-top-players-in-the-league
