The Baltimore Ravens brought back a familiar face this offseason, hiring former defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano to be the team’s new senior secondary coach after five years out of the league.
Though the 64-year-old has been away from the NFL for a few years, he’s showing no lack of excitement, and Ravens star safety Kyle Hamilton seems to have something to do with this.
During a recent interview with the Ravens team website, Pagano delivered some big-time praise to Hamilton, calling his ability “unbelievable.”
“He’s an avatar, man. He’s a freak,” Pagano said. “He’s unbelievable, his length, his speed, his size, his coverage for a safety, like he can cover slot receivers. It doesn’t matter who it is. Like there’s no panic when you watch him out there. It doesn’t matter if they got him at nickel, big nickel, safety, dime, from a mental standpoint, he knows all that. He’s a great communicator.”
Hamilton finished the 2024 season with 17 starts while posting a career-high 107 total tackles (77 solo), two sacks, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, nine pass breakups and one touchdown. As a result of his performance, he was named a Second-Team All-Pro and earned his second-career Pro Bowl nod. He also tied for ninth in the Defensive Player of the Year voting, an award that went to Denver Broncos star cornerback Patrick Surtain II.
Hamilton wasn’t able to quite match what he did last season but 2024 was still an individual success nontheless. In 2023, he had 81 total tackles, a career-high three sacks, 13 pass breakups, four interceptions and one pick-six en route to a Pro Bowl and First-Team All-Pro nod.
The former first-round pick will now enter his fourth season in the NFL as he looks to lead the Ravens defense during what could be a Super Bowl-or-bust year in Baltimore.
