Kyle Hamilton is a pillar of the Ravens’ defense — but he can’t be the only one

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What do you get a safety who can do everything? In Kyle Hamilton’s case, start with the reassurance that he doesn’t need to be everywhere.

The All-Pro will be a pillar of Ravens coach Jesse Minter’s defense, as he was for former defensive coordinator Zach Orr, and Mike Macdonald before him. With his create-a-player attributes — elite coverage skills, hard-nosed run defense, veteran savvy — Hamilton has long been a load-bearing piece in Baltimore.

At times, though, the Ravens have watched their defensive foundation crumble without him, their ceiling caved in and their floor lowered. Last year, Hamilton missed just one game and couldn’t finish another because of injury. The results were devastating.

In Week 5, the Ravens — also missing inside linebacker Roquan Smith and cornerback Marlon Humphrey, along with quarterback Lamar Jackson — didn’t force a punt until the fourth quarter of a 44-10 home loss to the Houston Texans.

In Week 18, Hamilton played 39 defensive snaps in a must-win game, helping the Ravens hold the Pittsburgh Steelers to 3.9 yards per play and a field goal. But, after a concussion sidelined him early in the third quarter, the Ravens allowed 6.9 yards per play and 26 points. Their season ended with Hamilton all but helpless.

As the Ravens rebuilt their defense this offseason, Hamilton’s role became an object of fascination. How much more of a “weapon,” as Minter’s called Hamilton, could the 25-year-old become under one of the NFL’s brightest defensive minds? With the Ravens preparing for their first padded practice of training camp Monday, the more important question might be: How much can they bulletproof their defense to survive, even thrive, without Hamilton?

“Obviously, as you know, it is not an ‘if’ but ‘when’ injuries happen in our sport,” Hamilton, who’s missed just three games over the past three seasons but has left a handful of others, said Wednesday. “Somebody is going to have to step up at some point this season. It could be halftime of Week 1. It could be Week 18 to keep your season alive. To that point, [if] we lose people like Roquan or” — here, he paused to look around for a slab of wood to knock on, just in case — “whoever it is, leaders of our team offense, defense, special teams, obviously, those are going to be big holes to fill.

“But at the end of the day you are expected to come in there and do your job. So I think it is a detailed thing that has been emphasized so far, and it is going to pay off later in the season.”

Hamilton’s skill set unlocks the best of the Ravens’ playbook, as Jackson’s does on offense. The NFL’s highest-paid safety can cover wide receivers and tight ends, in zone and in man-to-man. He can rush the passer and patrol center field. And, maybe most crucially, he can operate as a quasi-linebacker, fortifying the Ravens’ run defense against heavier personnel groupings without having to sacrifice their flexibility out of two-high looks.

Of course, the NFL’s best defenses have more than one force multiplier. The Ravens were supposed to have one in almost every position room last year. But defensive lineman Nnamdi Madubuike suffered a season-ending neck injury in Week 2, outside linebacker Odafe Oweh fell out of favor, Smith started slowly at linebacker, and cornerbacks Nate Wiggins and Marlon Humphrey struggled. Not even Hamilton could save a defense that finished 16th in overall efficiency, according to FTN.

Hamilton should have more help this year, not only on the field but on the sideline. Minter was arguably the NFL’s top head coaching candidate this offseason, a defensive whiz who helped reignite Los Angeles Chargers safety Tony Jefferson’s career after a brief retirement. Defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver earned head coaching interviews himself before returning to Baltimore.

Their sandbox now includes at least two new starters in Pro Bowl outside linebacker Trey Hendrickson and safety Jaylinn Hawkins, and enough ascendant youngsters — defensive lineman Travis Jones, outside linebacker Mike Green and Hamilton, among others — to spark hopes of a top-10 unit.

Hamilton will be heavily featured. But even a Hamilton-less defense looks more viable now. Safety Malaki Starks has experience in the slot, where Hamilton typically lines up, and was disruptive throughout the first week of camp. Humphrey has starred inside, too, though he’s lined up primarily as an outside corner this summer. Slot corner Keyon Martin has racked up breakups and intercepted a Jackson pass Saturday.

None has Hamilton’s prowess as a run defender, but pairing defensive lineman Calais Campbell with a healthy Madubuike would boost the Ravens up front.

“We are doing everything we can right now,” Weaver said Friday. “From early in camp and the offseason, we are trying to get confident. We are trying to learn it all. Now we are trying to build confidence where hopefully we can flip that into a flow state at one point where all 11 of us are moving as one and we all know where everybody is going to be. We can just attack.”

The Ravens have five-plus weeks to prepare for Week 1. They know what they can be with Hamilton. They know what they can be without him, too.

In 2023, opposing quarterbacks averaged 5.6 yards per attempt with Hamilton on the field and 7.4 yards with him off the field, according to Sports Info Solutions — about the difference between a league-worst mark and a top-15 mark for qualifying starters that season, respectively.

In 2024, Hamilton’s healthiest year, the Ravens allowed 27 points to the Cincinnati Bengals in just over 31 minutes after he hurt his ankle midway through a shootout win.

In 2025, quarterbacks completed 63.3% of their passes against Ravens defenses with Hamilton playing and 76.6% when he wasn’t. Minter will lean on him again this season, hoping for an irrepressible star but not necessarily an irreplaceable one.

“My appreciation for Kyle grows every second I’m around him,” Minter said Saturday. “He’s so fun to be around. He’s so fun to sit in a meeting with. He thinks football. He has a great sense of humor. We are building a good relationship where we can now talk about a lot of stuff beyond football. And then, what he can do on the field, he is one of one.”