Time flies, but the Ravens rookies have been in Baltimore for the past two months.
Baltimore's highly-regarded draft class has had rookie camp, football school and is in its third week of Organized Team Activities (OTAs).
So how is the class doing so far?
The offensive rookies have shined, particularly at wide receiver with first-round pick Breshad Perriman and sixth rounder Darren Waller. The Ravens' other offensive picks are second-round tight end Maxx Williams, fourth-round running back Buck Allen, fifth-round tight end Nick Boyle and sixth-round guard Robert Myers.
"I think that we're all looking for them just to get better every day and not trying to go in with super high expectations," Trestman said after Monday's practice.
"I think we all do – we have high expectations of all the guys that they are going to be able to contribute, that we want them to be able to contribute. But it's really just the learning process each and every day of getting better fundamentally, technique-wise and getting to understand not only what they do, but what's going on around them."
Trestman said he can't envision any of his draft picks not having a role on offense this year. He's hoping to find something for everybody. With that said, the two draft picks with likely the greatest chances are Perriman and Williams, who are both running with the first-team offense.
Perriman made an excellent leaping touchdown grab on a Joe Flacco bomb during Monday's practice, spurring Trestman to run down the sideline to congratulate him.
"What we saw on tape is what we are getting," Trestman said. "He has a good understanding of the game. He's not just a fast guy, he's a smart guy. He is going to learn how to be technique and use patience and use other aspects of playing the position – his size, his hand speed – to get off the line of scrimmage. So, that's really awesome to see that he's a quick learner, and he's catching the ball and making plays just like we saw him do on tape."
Williams hasn't flashed as much as Perriman, but he's made every catch that has come his way. Williams isn't as explosive, but should immediately be a reliable pass catcher who can move the chains as he continues to expand his game.
"What we saw on tape was a guy who would be in the right place, do the right things [and] make a play when he had the opportunity to make a play," Trestman said. "He was able to make the right plays at the right time during the course of his short career, really, in college, and that's what we would expect to see here."
Defensive Coordinator Dean Pees has been coaching third-round defensive tackle Carl Davis, fourth-round outside linebacker Za'Darius Smith and fourth-round cornerback Tray Walker.
"You know what, I'd put them all in kind of the same boat," Pees said. "They all are doing very, very well. They're all what we thought they were when we drafted them. We are not disappointed in anybody. We think we had a great draft class, and I still feel that way."
Davis flashed his brute strength during Monday's practice, once finding his way into the backfield for what could have been a sack. Smith made one of the most athletic plays of OTAs the week before, leaping to make an interception after sniffing out a Matt Schaub screen pass.
At this point of the offseason, Head Coach John Harbaugh is now turning up the degree of difficulty. Instead of declaring different portions of practice as* *run or pass periods, they're just playing real football (without hitting). The defense doesn't know what's coming anymore, making the rookies think.
Pees piled on. On Monday, he threw more calls at the rookies that they haven't heard since Day 1 as a test to see how much of the information they've retained.
"You can see the wheels spinning," Pees said. "And we did it on purpose to try to make them realize you have to be on top of it every day, and just because we're going onto a new installation doesn't mean we're forgetting the old one. … I think they all can go in there and tell you what they're supposed to do. They're all working really hard."
