Have we found the next great raven defender?

[JoeyFlex5]

Tavon Young has quietly been performing at a level that could contend for DROY. He has performed just as the ravens had hoped when they drafted him. We saw a feisty but undersized corner, a guy who had incredible explosion and ball skills, agility to mirror guys, light on the feet, firm ankles, great change of direction. What the rest of the NFL saw? a 5'9" corner, too small for the NFL. but what we didnt know about when we drafted him, was his football IQ which is beyond his years. This kid has no wall between his head and the field, he is extremely smart and instinctive, one second hes in off coverage and then in the blink of an eye hes 10 yards downhill breaking up a pass, often anticipating the throw he has baited qb's into throws on zone drops and off coverage plays, he brings the wood on his breaks allowing him to not just go after the ball and deflect, but to secure a tackle just incase the wr makes a spectacular catch on him, but more often than not he lays down the hammer and jars the ball loose in these scenarios... He has been excellent in run support, reminiscent of a young Webb the way he flies into frame and takes a ball carriers legs out from under him. He is one of our 2 ballhawks at the moment as he and Mosley get their hands on a lot of balls and hold on to them more than anyone else. 

Is it too early for this? sure, ill admit that, but this kid has been the epitome of why you dont slam ozzie on every move. we drafted this kid looking for a nickel corner, and found a fiery young stud that exceeds all expectations. If he grows and continues to improve, we have a seriously good corner on our hands here folks, and aside from his hiccups vs the giants, he has been a top 3 defender on this team with mosley and weddle. I believe that Tavon Young may possibly be the next great Ravens defender(not great as in ray lewis or ed reed, more like of a suggs/mosley caliber)

[Ravenseconbeast]

Probowler @year #1 for Tavon.   The kid just has IT.   

Every once in a while, you see players that needs no introduction.   He is among one of them.  

You cant deny his skillset.  He is doing an amazing job.   

[The Raven]

There's no doubt in my mind that he's the next great Raven defender and one of our building blocks for a long time.

 

[Cville-Raven]

He reminds me alot of Webb pre second acl tear. Dude is a ball hawk and plays much bigger than his size in run support. Ozzie got a steal in the 4th. He's better than most of the guys taken in the first two rounds. 

[allblackraven]

Loved the pick and loved Young ever since the day 3 in the draft when he drove to M&T. When you see him on the field, you can just tell he's a baller.

[LosT_in_TranSlatioN]

21 minutes ago, Cville-Raven said:

Oh hai Tavon

 

We all know that this is really what you wanted to say

 

Anyway I agree with your whole post. I think if he shows himself more as an outside corner we did get the steal of the draft along with Judon.

 

I believe @The Raven said this at first but CJ, Jernigan, Williams, Judon, and Tavon is a very good young foundation to build around. We need to keep all of them and go get one more edge rusher. We have good role players/veterans in there like ZDS is a good run defender(not much of a pass rusher but he serves a purpose), Guy is a solid DE, Jimmy is a very good corner, Weddle is the leader of the secondary, Pierce plays an important role. 

I loved the Tavon Young pick. Proving to be a difference maker. 

[PurpleCity5]

Really like what we came away with in this years draft class. Stanley, Lewis, Young, and Judon all look to contribute. I seriously hope Correa can put it all together. Once he does than you got a pretty impressive group. Hoping for the same from Moore.

[Cville-Raven]

4 minutes ago, LosT_in_TranSlatioN said:

We all know that this is really what you wanted to say

You know Tavon hit a guy so hard he ended up in a hospital on Guerrero street.

[redrum52]

I demand this thread is shut down because whenever these come along that player gets hurt or play declines.  Let's just enjoy the show.

 

 

 

...but how about that Judon kid as well.

 

Just to add to your point @JoeyFlex5 he's been remarkable in the nickel spot too.  Didn't anticipate him playing so well outside.  the only game you've seen him take lumps was the Giants game bit most others you don't even notice him which is great as a db.

Edited November 7, 2016 by redrum52

[Somerset Ravens]

Tavon certainly has exceeded so far. He seems to possess great instincts for the game. He has been a much needed addition to our defensive backfield . Keep up the good work young man !

[LosT_in_TranSlatioN]

24 minutes ago, Cville-Raven said:

You know Tavon hit a guy so hard he ended up in a hospital on Guerrero street.

Did he play this most recent game in a tuxedo?

 

12 minutes ago, redrum52 said:

I demand this thread is shut down because whenever these come along that player gets hurt or play declines.  Let's just enjoy the show.

 

 

 

...but how about that Judon kid as well.

 

Just to add to your point @JoeyFlex5 he's been remarkable in the nickel spot too.  Didn't anticipate him playing so well outside.  the only game you've seen him take lumps was the Giants game bit most others you don't even notice him which is great as a db.

Have to agree. Expected him to be slot only. Very surprised

[sflegend89]

Reminds me of Jason Verrett, another undersized corner that holds his own on the outside despite guys with his frame usually being resigned to strict nickel duty.

Young has exceeded expectations, I thought best case scenario he would in the mold of a Casey Hayward or Corey Graham. From what I've seen thus far he has a chance to be even better.

Edited November 7, 2016 by sflegend89

[reed20]

We're seeing a shut down corner emerge before our eyes.

[BOLDnPurPnBlacK]

I love this kid. 

I live in the Philly area and the community college I went to is a feeder for Temple so a lot of my close friends went there. So I got to watch him play in college quite a bit. 

Hes just fearless and a gamer. Coach Ruhle is changing that program and gets his kids ready to play. He really places and emphasis on development as opposed to just results, and it's showing with how many kids he got drafted out of that program and making NFL teams that don't have prototypical size and athleticism. 

Tavon, Ioannidis, and Matakevich this past year and he's got another group playing well right now. 

This kid is special though. From the start it was obvious that nothing is too big for him. He's been a playmaker all season long and plays with incredible fundamentals. 

For his size to routinely make these open field tackles against guys much bigger is just awesome. 

Hes feisty, his technique is sound, he's physical, has ball skills, reads the game well, eyes always in the right place, anticipates....

This kid could be the next great Raven defender. 

Add Judon and Pierce. Moore making ST plays, Stanley and Lewis already starting (though needing to improve) this draft already looks like a killer. 

Throw in Dixon if he can continue to improve and become a legit play maker, and we have yet to really see what Correa and Kaufusi can do (though Correa has shown good coverage ability and caused a fumble in his only extended action) this could be a draft where we literally get contributions from every player. 

Though Young right now is looking like the cream of the crop in terms of early returns. 

[usmccharles]

Love the kid.  But I'm going to hold off on anointing him.  Need to see it more consistently but definitely excited.  

[ALI624]

Loved him after the story that when he got drafted he decided to drive to the stadium and join the Raven's draft party.

[Static]

I'd like to see Young take over Webb's current role and put a taller press corner opposite of Jimmy.

[Cillmatic]

18 minutes ago, Static said:

I'd like to see Young take over Webb's current role and put a taller press corner opposite of Jimmy.

New rookie Player is doing very well in one position, so let's move him... Lol

Edited November 7, 2016 by Cillmatic

[Tru11]

20 minutes ago, Static said:

I'd like to see Young take over Webb's current role and put a taller press corner opposite of Jimmy.

you want to move him to Safety?

why?

 

[VermontRaven]

7 hours ago, usmccharles said:

Love the kid.  But I'm going to hold off on anointing him.  Need to see it more consistently but definitely excited.  

I agree.  Looks great so far, but far too early to say he is the answer.  I sure HOPE he is, but not a big enough sample size yet.  LOVE the picks of Stanley, Young, Lewis, and Judon this year.--And yes, I know Stanley had a rough game, but I think he will be a solid cog on our line for a long time.  (and this is not dissing any of our other picks or giving up on them--Just very pleased with how these 3 have stepped up)

[rmw10]

I won't go as far as to say he'll be a great yet, but he's playing incredibly well and should be a key piece moving forward.  He reminds me a lot of what we've seen from Jason Verrett so far, who has quickly become one of the better CBs in the game.  He's not quite as fast as Verrett, but they play with a similar temperament and have a similar skillset.

[Sami84]

If you remember on my draft report he was one of my favorite picks. I had him as captain munnerlyn re-incarnate. He might be a bit better even.

 

[trevorsteadman]

I also think it is cool how much pressure some of these young guys are getting. Judon with 3 sacks in 2 games now. Pierce gets pressure on the interior and looks monsterous at some points in the game. If they build that consistency in their rookie year then we may have found gems. But I'm also holding my breath because it seems like whenever we hype up a guy they let us down. Let's hope these guys continue off their impressive starts.

Also does anybody else feel like our offensive line just totally forgets what run blocking is. After the first quarter of effective running West and Dixon would get hit in the backfield before they could get back to the line of scrimmage. This needs to change. I feel like we will start seeing 'Fire Castillo' threads again that we haven't seen since the 2014 when Kubiak seemed to make it work.

[Willbacker]

He seems to all around have it. I'm thinking Ozzie needs to trade his 2nd and 3rd rounders and gather as many 4ths as he can lol.

[JoeyFlex5]

1 hour ago, Sami84 said:

If you remember on my draft report he was one of my favorite picks. I had him as captain munnerlyn re-incarnate. He might be a bit better even.

 

Yeah I was totally unfamiliar with the kid but when I watched film I just wondered how he went in the 4th. I was shocked to hear he was 5'9" 180 after seeing how big he plays. He was on my radar as our biggest steal of the draft as soon as I watched his tape.

[Deflated Football]

Dude is always near the ball. Was so excited when we drafted him. Could he really be in the mix for DROY? I'm not paying attention to other defensive rookies around the league though Ramsey was probably destined for the award the second he was drafted. 

[JoeyFlex5]

44 minutes ago, Deflated Football said:

Dude is always near the ball. Was so excited when we drafted him. Could he really be in the mix for DROY? I'm not paying attention to other defensive rookies around the league though Ramsey was probably destined for the award the second he was drafted. 

Bosa has been stellar since he came back. Ramsey has been good but not great, if I'm not mistaken he's gotten beat a lot but the qb isn't delivering on those plays(could be wrong, correct me if so) and I'm not saying he's in contention, just playing at a level where it should be strongly considered. He's played every bit as well as Ramsey the difference being Eli landed the throws young got beat on and Rodgers was missing them early in the year.

[January J]

Can't lie- when he first got drafted I didn't expect him to contribute at all this year. I was skeptical of his size and waiting that long to draft a corner. Boy was I wrong. Kids the real deal. Overall this was a very solid draft this year.  No denying that. And Peirce was a diamond in the rough as well that could save us a ton of money instead of paying Bwill.

[donkeyking64]

YES and yes. If dude wasn't even supposed to be playing outside, but only as a slot, and then he shows up and just makes plays for the majority of games he's in, then you may as well call it

[reed20]

6 hours ago, Sami84 said:

If you remember on my draft report he was one of my favorite picks. I had him as captain munnerlyn re-incarnate. He might be a bit better even.

 

No you didnt. You're just taking what profootballfocus said about him.