Ravens 2024 training camp Day 3 observations: Reining in Oweh, Maulet hat-tricks picks, Faalele picking up momentum

The heat, humidity and competition ramped up today at the Baltimore Ravens’ Under Armour Performance Center as Day 3 of training camp extended from their 90-minute practices to two hours. A number of plays were made, including more flashes from wide receiver Rashod Bateman, outside linebacker Odafe Oweh, cornerback Arthur Maulet and more.

Attendance/Injury

1. QB Lamar Jackson (illness)
2. RB Keaton Mitchell (PUP)
3. OLB Adisa Isaac (NFI) (Hamstring)
4. LB Yvandy Rigby (undisclosed)
5. CB T.J. Tampa Jr. (PUP) (sports hernia)

Reining In Oweh

The Ravens’ fourth-year outside linebacker has been featured in each addition of my observations. He makes an appearance today, too, as he spent time in the backfield pressuring quarterbacks yet again. Head Coach John Harbaugh shared he had to tell Oweh to slow it down a bit.

“I had to pull the reins in on him a little bit,” Harbaugh said. “And he understands, stay away from the quarterback as much as possible. We don’t want to have any car crashes out there. But he’s doing a great job. He’s bringing it. He’s pretty much been in the backfield every play so we appreciate it.”

Hat Trick of Picks for Maulet

Along with Oweh, Maulet’s been featured in each observations this training camp, for good reason. Today was his third-straight training camp practice with an interception, this time during 7-on-7 drills where he out-leapt wide receiver Nelson Agholor downfield along the boundary and high-pointed the Josh Johnson throw. A few plays later, Maulet nearly snared an off-target throw between the hashes that careened off his hands. Maulet then went off to the side and repped out pushups for his mistake. In the final session of 11-on-11 drills, Maulet nearly came down with a ball off a deflection between another cornerback and receiver, but it fell incomplete.

Maulet’s making a significant case to be the Ravens’ full-time nickel and have safety Kyle Hamilton move to the dime position. Now, to keep it up once Jackson returns from illness and solidify himself as the Ravens’ primary player in the slot.

Daniel Faalele Showing Potential at Right Guard

The first practice for offensive lineman Faalele left much to be desired. He appeared fatigued and was pulled from 11-on-11 drills and knelt next to a trainer in the back-half of Day 1’s practice and didn’t appear to re-enter practice. Today, he remained in the practice for the full two hours and made solid blocks during 11-on-11. At one point he flushed through to the second level and got his frame to block out linebacker Trenton Simpson, springing running back Owen Wright for a first down between the tackles. Faalele will need to string together more of these types of practices when the pads come on and in the dog days of camp and preseason to prove his endurance can be relied upon come the regular season.

Harbaugh talked about Faalele’s performance and his play at right guard in training camp.

“We’re going to give it a shot and see how [Faalele at right guard] looks,” Harbaugh said. “Daniel’s got very good feet for his size. He’s a big man but he can move his feet. He can also bend and create leverage. And when you’ve got that kind of size and you’re coming off the ball in some of those combination blocks, we feel like he’s got a chance with Tyler [Linderbaum] to move people. He keeps working on using his hands—things happen quicker, you’ve got to get your hands up quicker, get your hands on people a little quicker, he’s working on that part of it, too. So, we’ll see how he adapts.”

Big Play Highlights

• Rookie wide receiver Devontez Walker hauled in a deep reception against defensive back Daryl Worley from quarterback Emory Jones.
• Wide receiver Rashod Bateman made the first big play of the day, catching a 25-yard reception near the sideline against cornerback Marlon Humphrey and safety Ar’Darius Washington. The reception was initially bobbled but Bateman regained control and kept his feet inbounds, with the official signaling the catch was made, much to the chagrin of defenders in the vicinity. Bateman had another reaching grab on a crosser just behind Roquan Smith’s zone from Johnson.
• The offense began 11-on-11 drills with nine straight completions between Josh Johnson, Jones and Devin Leary.
• Arguably the best offensive play of the day came from Leary, who on 3rd & 15 in the red zone lofted a great ball to wide receiver Keith Kirkwood. Kirkwood made a minor adjustment to get back toward the ball and catch the ball around cornerback Trayvon Mullen’s coverage and fall inbounds.
• Outside linebacker David Ojabo overwhelmed offensive lineman Patrick Mekari at the line of scrimmage, clogging the running lane for Wright and getting a tackle at the line of scrimmage.
• A full-steam ahead Derrick Henry ran behind fullback Patrick Ricard, who got into space and opened a lane for what may be the scariest thing running at a defense in the NFL this season.
• Leary connected with Deonte Harty on the far field for a 20-yard completion.

False Start Laps

The Ravens instituted a rule this offseason that any player who jumps before the snap runs a lap around the field. Today, only one player was flagged for the infraction.