Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Don "Wink" Martindale feels something like Iron Man or Captain America. Not because he can fire repulsor blasts or sling a vibranium shield, but like those movie superheroes, when it came time to assemble the team this year, some of Martindale's top members were gone.

Martindale's defense gave up the fewest yards in the NFL during the 2018 season. But in March, the Ravens lost three pillars of their defense.

Former Alabama All-American and Baltimore first-round draft choice C.J. Mosley left for the New York Jets after making the Pro Bowl four times in five seasons, safety Eric Weddle went to the Los Angeles Rams after three straight Pro Bowl seasons and outside linebacker Terrell Suggs joined the Arizona Cardinals after 16 seasons in Baltimore.

“I think ‘transition’ could be substituted for ‘mourning,’" Martindale said about what the Ravens’ defense had gone through this offseason. "It’s like ‘Avengers,’ that Thanos guy who snapped his fingers, and I’m like, ‘Where did everybody go?'

"It’s one of those deals. Those guys are great players, and I’m not going to sit up here and say, ‘Next man up,’ the typical coach talk. We’re going to miss them. You’re going to miss a Terrell Suggs. Everybody here is. Everybody in the city of Baltimore is. They’re going to miss Terrell Suggs, and I’m not going to sit up here and act like it’s just the next man up."

Despite the personnel losses, the returning members of Baltimore’s defense spent the offseason program expressing their hopes of repeating as the league’s No. 1 defense in 2019.

“I think that’s been the conversation with all of them," Martindale said, "and that’s nothing that I’m pushing either. It’s just the standard of Raven football, Raven defense, John Harbaugh defense. We know where we need to be. We know where we’re expected to be, and we’re excited to accept that challenge.”

One of the reasons that the Ravens' goal doesn't come off as wishful thinking is the Baltimore secondary.

The cornerback combination of Marlon Humphrey and Jimmy Smith has been praised as having the potential to be the best tandem in the Ravens’ history, and that doesn’t even account for Brandon Carr, who’s been a starting cornerback in all 176 games since he entered the NFL in 2008; Tavon Young, who’s become a regular at slot corner in his two seasons; and Anthony Averett, a former Alabama standout who got his feet wet as a rookie last season.

Smith is preparing for his ninth season in the Baltimore secondary.

The 16th player picked in the 2017 NFL Draft, Humphrey started half the Ravens’ games last season, but Pro Football Focus still judged the former Crimson Tide standout as No. 97 in its ratings of NFL players in 2018 regardless of position.

“The thing that jumps out to me about Marlon is the fact that he is a super-detailed guy when it comes to technique and playing his position,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said during Baltimore’s minicamp. "He’s very coachable. He listens to every word you say, and then he tries to apply it in his way. He tries to understand. He’s very smart, so he can understand the point that’s being made, and then he goes to work on it. If you watch him play, he’s not just a talented guy -- he is super-talented. But he applies technique at a really high level, and that’s what makes him so good.”

Baltimore also added to its secondary in the offseason, signing Earl Thomas in free agency. The safety was a six-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro over the previous nine seasons with the Seattle Seahawks.

“I think that, obviously, there’s no secret that we’re going to lean heavily on our secondary with the group we have back there, especially with the addition of Earl Thomas,” Martindale said. "… So we’re really excited about our secondary.”

The Ravens will hold their first full-team practice of training camp on July 25. Baltimore will kick off its four-game preseason schedule on Aug. 8 against the Jacksonville Jaguars and its regular-season slate on Sept. 8 against the Miami Dolphins.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.