One of the biggest question marks looming over the Ravens’ 2024 season is how its new-look offensive line will hold up. Come Week 1, Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry could line up behind three players who can count their combined number of career starts on one hand.
The Ravens must replace veteran guards Kevin Zeitler and John Simpson, both of whom departed in free agency. Ben Cleveland and Andrew Vorhees may slot in as the starting guards. At right tackle, Roger Rosengarten or Daniel Faalele will likely take Morgan Moses’ spot after the veteran was dealt to the Jets in March.
But NFL Network analyst and former Cowboys offensive lineman Brian Baldinger isn’t worried about the group’s lack of experience. He believes the Ravens’ front office has a unique eye for offensive line talent.
“They replace offensive linemen the way Walmart stocks shelves,” Baldinger said on Glenn Clark Radio on June 11. “… Their best pick that they’ve had was Tyler Linderbaum. He’s a great player. And I think when your center is strong, it makes everybody else better. … They’re going to be in pretty good shape. They’ve got a good offensive line coach [in Joe D’Alessandris]. They know how to coach that position. They do things in the run game that nobody else does. They’re still going to be difficult to stop. I think they’re going to be pretty good.”
Baldinger is particularly excited about Rosengarten, whom the Ravens selected No. 62 overall out of Washington in this year’s draft. The former Huskie started all 28 games at right tackle in his final two college seasons, protecting left-handed quarterback Michael Penix’s blind side.
Troy Fautanu, Rosengarten’s counterpart at left tackle, stole much of his spotlight during draft season. Fautanu went 42 picks ahead of him at No. 20 to the Steelers. But turn on the film, and Baldinger sees Rosengarten as a paramount piece of Washington’s run to a national championship appearance.
“That was the best deep ball passing offense in all of college football, and nobody was close to what Michael Penix did,” Baldinger said. “You needed offensive linemen that could pass block for a long time. … You’ve got a lot of really good plays, a lot of good games where you got a chance to see [Rosengarten] have to stand in there and pass protect a lot longer than most college programs did.”
“I don’t know if you’re going to plug-and-play him yet,” the analyst added. “We’ll see how he holds up through training camp and in preseason games. I think they’re going to give them a good long look to see if he can win that starting right tackle job.”
With Henry in the backfield and a power-run mindset at the forefront of the offensive scheme, Baldinger expects to see the Ravens run plenty of 12 personnel — meaning two tight ends line up on the field at the same time. This will present offensive coordinator Todd Monken with the opportunity to use Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely at the same time in creative ways that maximize each tight end’s playmaking ability.
Likely broke out after Andrews’ midseason ankle injury, hauling in five touchdowns and averaging 53.7 yards per game in the six regular-season games Andrews missed. He also improved drastically as a blocker, seeing his PFF run-blocking grade spike from 51.9 in 2023 to 76.5 in 2024.
Having both tight ends for a full season not only bolsters the Ravens’ run game, it gives Lamar Jackson multiple stellar options when throwing to the middle of the field or down the seam. And if those tight ends draw more defenders into the box, Zay Flowers’ explosiveness could become even more of an asset.
“Isaiah really stepped up. That was apparent to everybody, and I think that will continue,” Baldinger said. “But Zay Flowers was their No. 1 receiver. They haven’t had a No. 1 wide receiver in a long, long time. And he stepped into that role and he flourished. Players make the biggest jump between their first and second year, and I think Zay will do that.”
For more from Baldinger, listen to the full interview here:
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