Vote for the Baltimore Ravens’ Breakout Player of the Year for the 2023 season
The 2023 Baltimore Beatdown Awards continue after our first nominees were announced on Tuesday for Breakout Player of the Year.
Special teams is near and dear to my heart, as noted with my annual NFL Kicking Crown. It’s also of high importance for the Baltimore Ravens, with Head Coach John Harbaugh being a former special teams coordinator and the effort he, former special teams coordinator Jerry Rosburg and current coordinator Chris Horton have put into developing talent.
Baltimore Beatdown’s Special Teams Player of the Year Candidates
Kyle Phoenix: LS Tyler Ott
Shocker, I know. I pick the long-snapper. The unheralded position of the team and the NFL. But for the Ravens to lose All-Pro Nick Moore days before camp spelled a potential disaster at a heartbreaking moment. Instead, Ott signed with Baltimore and proceeded to deliver game after game. To my unprofessional eye, he was excellent. The Ravens kicking unit went off without a hitch. Just ask Justin Tucker. Oh wait, I did.
“Tyler came in and didn’t skip a beat,” Tucker said at locker room cleanout. “He did an excellent job of making whatever minor adjustments we were asking him to make – probably more selfishly than anything that I was asking him to make – he did a great job of coming in and really being a technician on the field and then just fitting in with everything that we do on and off the field. I can’t speak highly enough of Tyler and I know his future is bright.”
Yes, Tucker is likely the most worthy for this. You can make the case for Tylan Wallace, too. Hell, the significant jump in production for Jordan Stout would’ve been my vote if this was Special Teams Breakout Player of the Year. But for me, Ott’s role will go unnoticed for the best of reasons and for that, he’s my nominee.
Vasilis Lericos: PR Tylan Wallace
2023 was a bit of a down season for Baltimore’s traditionally excellent special teams. Core performers Del’Shawn Phillips, Malik Harrison and Devin Duvernay all missed time with injuries and the coverage units felt their absences. Outstanding kicker Justin Tucker had a few attempts blocked and was not as accurate as usual from long distance. Young punter Jordan Stout was solid but not flawless either. Therefore, Wallace should earn the honor on the strength of his overtime punt return touchdown against the Rams in Week 14. Tylan broke several tackles in route to his game-winning 76-yard return. It was one of the defining plays of the season and helped the Ravens earn a comeback victory against a playoff contender.
Frank Platko: PR Tylan Wallace
Wallace was on the contributing end of arguably the biggest individual play of the Ravens’ season. His 69-yard punt return for a walkoff touchdown in overtime of Week 14 was a pivotal launching point in the year. The Ravens proceeded to win three straight convincing victories against formidable opponents after that and clinch the No. 1 seed in the AFC. Wallace’s performance in relief of All-Pro returner Devin Duvernay overall exceeded expectations. Even in a smaller sample size, his impact was significant in what was a subpar year from the Ravens’ special teams as a whole.
Joshua Reed: K Justin Tucker
Wide receiver Tylan Wallace had the biggest special teams play of the season with his 76-yard kick return touchdown to clinch an overtime win over the Los Angeles Rams and inside linebacker Del’Shawn Phillips led the team in special teams tackles with eight. However, the obvious answer will always be the future Hall of Famer until he retires, falls off a cliff in terms of consistency and production, or gets outshined by an All-Pro season from punter Jordan Stout or elite season by a return specialist. Tucker briefly lost the title of most accurate kicker of all time but that lasted all of one week and he still finished 32-of-37 on his attempts. Of his five misses, four came from beyond 50 yards including three from 55-plus, one of which was blocked, and the other two came from 59 and 61 yards in the pouring rain. Seemingly every week, Ravens fans and players found themselves expressing how incredibly grateful they are on social media with appreciation posts of the nine-time Pro Bowler because one or more kickers around the league missed a crucial kick or chip shot kick in a big game that proved to be costly for their respective team. Tucker is still the goal standard at the position whose down years are still career years for the vast majority of his contemporaries. There is still no one I’d have more faith in to have ice in their veins and come up clutch with a big kick in crunch time than the G.O.A.T.
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