A big part of the Baltimore Ravens defensive prowess over the years has been quality play from their interior defensive linemen. The late Tony Siragusa manned the middle of the line for those great Ravens defenses in the early 2000s.
Haloti Ngata carried the torch for the Ravens in the latter half of the decade. Then came Brandon Williams in 2013. Current defensive lineman Calais Campbell is the latest to add his name to the mix.
Next up is 2022 third-round pick Travis Jones. The 6-foot-4, 325-pound football player has already drawn praise.
“I’ve been very impressed with Travis [Jones’] just overall maturity. [It’s his] first time, obviously, in the league, and it seems like every time he does a first thing, he’s got a great attitude, and just his overall effort … It doesn’t look like he’s lost or it’s too big for him out there,” defensive coordinator Mike McDonald said.
“He’s really been very dominant against starter-level players, too. It’s not like he’s doing it against young guys; he’s doing it against the ‘ones’ too, which is kind of impressive, “ Campbell added. “He’s kind of a unique guy. Not a lot of guys have his power and raw strength – not that I’ve played with.”
Jones has two tackles and a sack in limited action against the Tennessee Titans in the preseason opener last Thursday. Getting praise from his teammates has been encouraging for Jones. Despite the praise, he continues to adopt a daily mindset that pushes him to do something to get better every day.
The early snaps in training camp saw Jones struggle adjusting to the speed of the game. He had trouble adjusting to how fast everything was moving around him. Things started to slow down as he got more reps under his belt.
Jones made a concerted effort to get better from a conditioning standpoint so he could be on the field for more snaps. Overall, Jones just wanted to get in where he could fit in.
“I came to camp with no personal goals,” Jones said. “My goal, for me, personally, was just to come in every day, put my best foot forward and be ready to work.”
The next day of work will be in week two of the preseason against the Arizona Cardinals on the road.