Baltimore’s pass rush has done its part. The question now is whether the back end can finish the job.
Through three games, the Ravens have six sacks, and Nnamdi Madubuike was the highest-graded defensive lineman in the NFL by Pro Football Focus in his first game back. But the pressure hasn’t consistently turned into disruption behind it. Teams have been exposing Baltimore in the short passing game, and the secondary has been asked to clean up plays that never fully get finished up front.
That tension is at the center of the Ravens’ defensive conversation right now. Jesse Minter said Baltimore is “chasing consistency” on defense, and that’s the thread running through the first three weeks: generate pressure, then actually convert it into stops.
Instead, the safety room has been underwhelming.
The issue is not the idea of the defense. It is the execution on the back end. Malaki Starks and Jaylinn Hawkins have both played huge workloads — Starks has been on the field for 99.4 percent of snaps, Hawkins for 90.3 percent — but the results have not matched the usage. According to Pro Football Focus, both have posted coverage grades of 50.1 or lower.
That leaves Baltimore in an awkward spot. The front is creating chances, but the secondary is not consistently cashing them in. Dak Prescott’s Week 3 line — 276 passing yards and a touchdown — fit that pattern. So did the broader picture from the first month, where the Ravens have had to keep dealing with completions underneath and missed opportunities to get off the field.
The tackling has only added to the problem.
Against the Saints, Baltimore missed key tackles that helped New Orleans mount a second-half comeback. That was the same game in which the defense’s short-area issues became harder to ignore, because the Saints were able to keep extending drives and turning routine gains into something bigger.
That is where Keondre Jackson enters the picture.
Jackson has played just one defensive snap all season, but he has already made himself noticeable in other ways. He has three tackles and blocked a kick against the Dallas Cowboys. He also stood out on special teams, and he has shown in limited chances that he can make plays — including forcing a fumble last season and flashing in preseason.
That does not mean Baltimore is about to hand him a starting job.
“Obviously, I’m not saying Jackson should earn a starting role.”
But it does mean the Ravens have reached the point where a real look makes sense. If the current safety play is not holding up and the defense keeps needing more from the back end, then giving Jackson a chance becomes less of a side note and more of a practical next step.
Minter has a lot to fix if he wants to lead another outstanding defense in 2026, and the next fix may not come from adding more pressure. The Ravens already have that part. What they need now is a defense that can finish the play after the rush starts it.
Week 4 against the Tennessee Titans offers the next chance to show that. Baltimore is expected to turn things around there, and the coaching staff will keep looking for answers as it tries to tighten the coverage, clean up the tackling, and get more out of the safety rotation.
For now, the clearest takeaway is simple: the Ravens’ defense does not just need more disruption. It needs the back end to do its part.