Spotlighting the Baltimore Ravens' CB Position Heading into the 2012 Season

The Baltimore Ravens are best-known for their defense, but that generally conjures up images of quarterbacks being sacked, running backs being stuffed behind the line of scrimmage and the intensity of Ray Lewis.

However, rather quietly, the Ravens have amassed themselves quite the wealth of talent at the cornerback position, which helped them along to having the fourth-best pass defense of the 2011 season.

Let's take a look at each of the Ravens' corners and see just how much they may contribute this season.

Lardarius Webb

Lardarius Webb is easily the Ravens' best cornerback this year, and as such, the team rewarded him with a five-year, $50 million contract extension this offseason. 

Last season, Webb had 67 total tackles, one sack, five interceptions and one interception returned for a touchdown. He was also used as a returner, but now that he's proven so valuable those duties will fall to another player.

If there's a competition going on between Ravens corners this year, it doesn't involve Webb—he's a guaranteed starter and should continue making a major difference in the Baltimore secondary this season and beyond.

Cary Williams

Cary Williams likely hoped for a contract extension of his own this offseason, but his recovery from hip surgery probably stalled out those talks; he instead received a second-round restricted free agent tender, worth $1.927 million, which he signed earlier in May.

Williams had 78 total tackles and two forced fumbles last season. His recovery is ongoing, but he should be able to take the field come the start of training camp in July. Williams will be competing for the second starting corner job with second-year player Jimmy Smith

Jimmy Smith

Jimmy Smith was the Ravens' first-round draft pick in 2011 and made a pretty solid impact in his rookie season, notching 20 total tackles and two interceptions.

He will be competing with Cary Williams for a starting job this year, but he's not currently at this week's Ravens OTAs for reasons so far unknown.

Perhaps, with the workouts being voluntary and the competition not really heating up until Williams can take the practice field in July, he feels comfortable sitting this one out.

Corey Graham

Though Corey Graham may see a bit of on-field time this season in nickel and dime packages, the Ravens brought on the former Chicago Bears free agent for his special teams skills. The Ravens lost two key members of their coverage team in free agency—safeties Haruki Nakamura and Tom Zbikowski—and desperately needed someone to fill that void.

Graham certainly does just that. Since 2007, Graham has racked up 75 special teams tackles—good for third in the league. Though Graham may not get a lot of playing time at his listed position, he's still likely to contribute to the Ravens' overall effort in a major way.

Asa Jackson

Asa Jackson was the Ravens' fifth-round pick this season, and despite being so green to the professional game, is one of the players not present at today's OTA session. 

Jackson is a fast, heavily-decorated corner out of Cal Poly who is slightly shorter than the prototype. That smallness is offset by that aforementioned speed and his playmaking ability in college.

This season, Jackson will spend most of his time on special teams; he'll certainly be involved in punt and kick coverage but he could also return a few kicks, considering his successes in doing so in college, though he'd be competing with newly-signed free agent receiver Jacoby Jones for those touches.

Chykie Brown

Chykie Brown is in his second year with the Ravens. He saw limited action last season—notching just four tackles—but should remain on the team as depth while he continues to develop his talents. Look for Brown to be fourth or fifth on the depth chart and take the field situationally this season.

Danny Gorrer

Danny Gorrer has hung around in the league for a few seasons now and apparently proved his talents to the Ravens enough last season to be active in 11 games and the postseason. He notched five tackles as a corner but also contributes on special teams and could easily be in competition for the fourth-string job this year.

Either way, expect to see a little more of Gorrer this year. He should make an even bigger impact on kick and punt coverage, certainly, and, like Brown, could get some situational action in nickel and dime packages.

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