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With the Ravens at their bye week, I figured it would be a good time to check in on the progress of their rookies as we sit almost halfway through the season.
The Ravens haven't gotten a ton of production out of their rookie class to this point, but head coach John Harbaugh likes what he's seeing from the group.
"I think they're developing," Harbaugh said. "When you have a really good football team like we have, you're probably not going to get as much out of your rookie class as much as some other teams are, and that's a good thing. I think that's a good problem to have."
Here's a breakdown of how each rookie has played thus far:
Sergio Kindle, LB
2nd round, 43rd overall
0 games played, on the Non-Football Injury list
Kindle fractured his skull in late-July when he fell down two flights of stairs, and he has been placed on the Ravens' non-football injury list, meaning he's out for the season. Kindle is allowed to sit in on meetings with the team, lift weights and watch practice, but he cannot participate in any team football drills. He has said that he's "150 percent" sure he'll play football again, although the Ravens have not set any type of timetable for Kindle's return.
Hear this: "I think when you do watch Sergio, what you do [notice] is he really misses it, like he really wants to be out there. He was even out there messing around wanting to practice, wanting to do walk-throughs, wanting to do all these things. Hopefully, he can come back and play. Hopefully, that head injury goes away and that young kid can come back and play, because he's a great talent. Great talent." -Linebacker Ray Lewis
Terrence Cody, NT
2nd round, 57th overall
4 games played, 1 tackle
Cody missed the first three games of the season as he worked back from knee surgery, but he's suited up the last four weeks and has seen increased playing time each time out. The Alabama product has been rotating in behind starting nose tackle Kelly Gregg. He made his first career tackle last Sunday against the Bills. Cody has maintained his weight, which had been a problem in college, and despite a somewhat slow start, has been coming on well lately.
Hear this: "Terrence Cody, he's done a nice job. He's got to continue to work on, I'd say, two things: Pad level and shedding blocks quickly so he can make more plays between tackle and tackle. But he's got all the ability in the world. He plays hard, he practices hard. He's going to be a good player." -Head coach John Harbaugh
Ed Dickson, TE
3rd round, 70th overall
7 games played, 4 catches for 87 yards, 1 special teams tackle
Dickson has been the most productive member of the rookie class to this point. He's appeared in every game this season and has catches in four of them, including a 58-yard reception against the Broncos. Dickson has been backing up Todd Heap, and with the veteran tight end banged up, Harbaugh said Dickson might be in line for more playing time.
Hear this: "He's gotten better every day and continues to get better. Like most young guys, the biggest challenge is the game-to-game adjustments that you have to make, and that just comes with time. We anticipate him continually impacting every game, and he has. People just don't want to talk about tight end blocking. For whatever reason, people have made it out to be a wide receiver position, which it's not. All tight ends, the majority of their play is blocking. And he's doing an outstanding job. So again, there are a lot of things he's doing at a high level." -Offensive coordinator Cam Cameron
Dennis Pitta, TE
4th round, 114th overall
6 games played, 1 catch for 1 yard
Pitta has been getting limited reps on offense as the Ravens' third tight end behind Heap and Dickson, but he's seen some playing time on special teams as well. He made his first career catch Week 2 against the Bengals. Pitta was a gameday inactive against the Broncos three weeks ago, but with Heap's injury situation, he'll likely be up much of the season.
Hear this: "Pitta is playing more and more. I think we need to get those guys in there more and more. We want to continue to balance out [Heap's] numbers a little bit with those young tight ends. So, I think you'll see more and more of those guys as the season goes on." -Harbaugh
David Reed, WR
5th round, 156th overall
6 games played, 5 special teams tackles
Reed was inactive for the Ravens' most recent game because of a thigh injury, but he had played in the previous six contests and has been a big special teams contributor. He is second on the team in special teams tackles, and is in the mix to possibly get a shot returning kickoffs as well. The Ravens have been pleased with Reed's progress this season.
Hear this: "You look at David as he plays offense and special teams... He's a guy that's just a natural football player. You watch him... You put him on kickoff coverage, and he makes tackles; you put him in gunner, and he makes tackles; you put him at corner, and he blocks guys. I would guess that the best way I would categorize David is he's very much of a football player. We have a lot of guys that we're working in the return game, and he's one of them." -Special teams coordinator Jerry Rosburg
Arthur Jones, DT
5th round, 157th overall
0 games played
Jones has been a gameday inactive for all seven games this season. The Ravens are very deep at defensive tackle, and the rookie is stuck behind a number of guys at this point. Despite the lack of playing time, the coaches like his upside.
Hear this: "That young group of defensive linemen really [have done] a nice job. Terrence and Arthur Jones and [Lamar] Divens, I was really impressed with them." -Defensive coordinator Greg Mattison
Ramon Harewood, OT
6th round, 194th overall
0 games played, on Injured Reserve
Harewood was placed on Injured Reserve at the end of the preseason because of injuries to both knees. He has since had surgery to clean up the knees, and expects to be back 100 percent healthy for offseason conditioning next season. Harewood performed well in training camp this year and has a high upside. Some consider him a candidate to start at right tackle sometime in the not too distant future.
Hear this: "He's a quick study for a guy who never played high school football and played small college football. For him to pick it up as quickly as he can... He gets better every single day." -Harbaugh at the end of training camp
