Getty Ravens DT Justin Madubuike believes "Every year is a big year".
The final year of any player’s contract regardless of veteran status can come with a lot of pressure to perform and make sure they set themselves up to get paid by the team their on or elsewhere if they make it to unrestricted free agency.
However, in the mind of Baltimore Ravens starting defensive tackle Justin Madubuike who is heading into the fourth and final year of his rookie deal, every season is just as important as the last or the next.
“You can make it a bigger deal than it is, or you can just put your head down and work hard,” he told the media on June 13, 2023, on the first day of mandatory minicamp. “I chose to pick that route. Every year is a big year I feel like, so it doesn’t change anything. You just keep working hard, you keep sharpening [your tools], getting closer to the details, be the best player you can be on and off the field, and for your teammates.”
Madubuike was selected in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft out of Texas A&M and has seen his role, production, and overall impact increase each year he has been in the league. Even though he is coming off the best season of his career to date, he isn’t resting on his laurels and is still looking to improve his craft and take his game and team to the next level.
“Just to keep working hard, just keep sharpening all my tools, just keep learning, just keep being a better teammate, a better player, stepping up on defense, and just taking it one day at a time,” Madubuike said. “We have the ultimate goal as a team, and we all know what that is. It starts now.”
Last season he finished tied his former mentor, Calais Campbell for the second most sacks on the team in 2022 with a career-high 5.5 per Pro Football Reference. Now that the six-time Pro Bowler is no longer on the roster, many are expecting him to continue ascending, including his head coach.
“I expect [Justin] to take off – I say take off, but kind of continue on the same track – take the next step as a player,” John Harbaugh said. “I think he’s going to have a great year.”
Madubuike Focused More on Leadership than Contract Talks
Filling in Campbell’s massive shoes doesn’t just mean stepping up his production on the field but also being a mentor to the younger players not just at his position but on the team overall. Becoming a better leader is at the forefront of his mind more than negotiating a potential early extension with the team ahead of the season.
“Right now, I’m not even focused on that, honestly,” Madubuike said. “I’m just trying to just put my head down and work, focus on the guys, focus on these new rookies and showing them the way – the way like Calais was showing me the way – pass that down. [I’m] just trying to take it one day at a time and keep working hard, showing them how to work.”
He admitted that not having Campbell in the room for the first time in his career after having grown under his massive wings during his first three years in the league is definitely a little different. However, the 25-year-old still wants to help guide youngsters like 2022 third-rounder Travis Jones as well as some of the team’s undrafted developmental talent from the past two years.
“He was the old vet, but he showed us a lot of great things, and I definitely want to pass that forward and just definitely be a leader by example,” Madubuike said. “When I feel like I need to say something, I’ll say something.”
Another Big Fan of the Dr. Rush Hiring
Count Madubuike among the growing contingent of Ravens defenders that are excited about the addition of new outside linebackers Chuck Smith to the coaching staff. Even though he primarily works with the edge rushers he also spends time helping the interior defensive linemen refine their pass rush skills as well.
“He played in the league, he’s been in our shoes, and he knows what it takes to get to the quarterback,” Madubuike said. “He knows what it takes for the whole D-line to be on the same accord, so we can have a great rush plan. I feel like he’s a great addition to our team. I’m glad to have him here, for real.”
The two of them already had a preexisting relationship prior to Smith being hired as a full-time coach when he was a pass rush specialist consultant and coach.
“I even worked with Chuck before he got here, in Atlanta,” Madubuike said. “When he came here to the team, I was like, ‘Oh, this is great. We’re going to learn so much from you.’ So, I’m excited.”
While he doesn’t have a signature pass rush move figured out yet, one technique that Smith has been “preaching” about a lot is the club rip because it is one of the most effective ways to disengage with and get around blockers on the way to the quarterback.
“If you do a great pass-rushing move, he will show it on film and it will look good, but if you don’t have a rip, he’s going to call you out on it,” Madubuike said. “He just focuses on the little details, and that’s what I love about him.”
Underrated Veteran ‘Very Determined’ to Bounce Back
Madubuike isn’t the only player on the defensive line that Harbaugh and the Ravens believe is trending upward and chomping at the bit to prove himself. After having back-to-back seasons cut short due to injury, seven-year veteran nose tackle Michael Pierce is another projected starter that they’re expecting a lot from in 2023.
“Michael was on a trajectory, and then, all of a sudden, he had a couple of injuries that sidetracked him the last few years,” Harbaugh said. “I think he’s very determined to kind of get back on track that way, and I have high expectations for him.”
Pierce sat out all of the 2020 season after opting out due to COVID-19 concerns, appeared in just eight games with the Minnesota Vikings in 2021, and elected to have surgery on his torn biceps after three games in his return to the Ravens last season according to Pro Football Reference.
Prior to and in the midst of his rash of health-related setbacks, he showed tremendous growth in his all-around game by showing that he was more than just the elite run stuffer that he developed into during his first four years in the league.
The former undrafted gem that originally signed with the Ravens in 2016 recorded a career-high three sacks in the only year he saw the field for the Vikings and even though he didn’t record a sack in the first three weeks of last season, he was very disruptive and the fifth-highest graded interior defensive lineman in the league over that span according to Pro Football Focus.
On May 17 during the football school portion of the Ravens’ offseason program, defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald spoke glowingly about Pierce and even called him an “underrated interior pass rusher”. If the 30-year-old can stay healthy and not only pick up where he left off during his hot start to 2022 but build on it, the absence of Campbell will be even less noticeable.
