The Baltimore Ravens ended up having two first-round picks during the 2022 NFL draft, selecting Notre Dame safety Kyle Hamilton at No. 14 overall and Iowa center Tyler Linderbaum at No. 25. Both players are expected to play a big role in the success of the team for years to come due to their immense talent.
When projecting the first-year impacts of each 2022 first-round draft pick, Ian Wharton of Bleacher Report had favorable predictions for both Hamilton and Linderbaum. Starting with Hamilton, Wharton projects the safety to finish 2022 with 62 tackles, two sacks and one interception, talking about his potential role in the Baltimore defense.
“The 6’4″, 220-pounder will likely have a nontraditional role in Baltimore, though. Their depth chart is already filled with proven veteran talent like Marcus Williams and Chuck Clark. There’s room for Hamilton to earn playing time, but he may be more of a slot corner in some games and a blitzer in others…New Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald may opt to use Hamilton as a tight-end specialist because the AFC has several special talents. That’s a big task for a rookie, but there’s not an athlete on the team better qualified for that challenge than Hamilton.”
