Exposing Myself On My Biggest NFL Draft Whiffs: Kyle Hamilton
Today we’re going to talk about Kyle Hamilton and we’re going to do it by introducing a new series. Nobody else in the media is willing to do this but I am. On the rare occasion that I am wrong about a prospect, I will be exposing myself. Similar to what I did with Jalen Hurts.
If you have been following Vendetta over the years, you already know that we have the best NFL Draft content on the internet. It’s just a fact. I’ll stack my resume up against anybody. The “experts” just don’t want to talk about it
Some things are just out of my control. It’s not an excuse, it’s just a reality of how life works. I just did a post about how Joe Flacco is back. It just wouldn’t happen if he was with a terrible head coach. We saw what happened when Flacco played for the Jets.
Hamilton is a flawed player. He just is. You can pretend otherwise but I’m just going to fill you in on a little secret. 90% of NFL teams would have absolutely no idea how to use this guy. If anything, this post should be about giving the Ravens credit for having a plan and developing the player.
Speaking of which, Jadeveon Clowney has 8.5 sacks in 15 games. Justin Houston had 9.5 last year and 0.5 this year. Do you think that’s a coincidence? How many sacks do you think Von Miller would have in Baltimore? More than zero, which is what he currently has playing like a bum with the Bills?
I just want to take you back in time to how Hamilton was viewed prior to the 2022 NFL Draft. There was talk that this guy was going to be taken with the second pick in the draft that year. Something I viewed as outlandish. The former Notre Dame product fell all the way to pick 14.
He “slipped” for one reason. He’s not a safety. You can call him a safety, but he’s not a safety. Hamilton ran a 4.69 at the Combine and can’t cover at all one-on-one. His pure change of direction ability in short areas is not great. Again, 90% of the teams would just plug him at safety and watch him fail.
Except the Ravens haven’t done that. They have basically created a new position as this safety/linebacker hybrid player. In 11 personnel, he’s in the box and helps them stop the run. In obvious passing downs, he’s a chess piece that you never quite know how or where he’s going to be deployed. He’s taken their defense to another level as the ultimate chess piece.
He’s like Jamal Adams except with better range. After notching zero interceptions as a rookie, Hamilton has four in year two. He also has three sacks and has been effective coming downhill all year. He tackles very well and is really the ultimate wildcard.
Hand up. I was wrong. You got me on this one. It shouldn’t be undersold on how much Baltimore developed the player. Still, they made a great pick here and I was wrong. Kyle Hamilton is positively impacting the Ravens and I never thought he would have this much success at the NFL level.
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