The Baltimore Ravens' offensive line is one of the biggest concerns for the team heading into the 2024 NFL season.
The Ravens lost three starters during the offseason in Kevin Zeigler, John Simpson, and Morgan Moses, and didn't make any major veteran additions to replace them.
Now, the Ravens' training camp is essentially an open audition to fill in those spots. Two of the favorites — tackle Roger Rosengarten and guard Andrew Voorhees — are rookies (Vorhees didn't play in 2023 because of an injury) who haven't played a snap in the NFL.
On Yahoo's "Football 301" podcast, NFL analyst Charles McDonald said he thinks the Ravens' O-line "might be the worst offensive line in football this season."
McDonald proceeded to break down the Ravens' options along the line, in critical fashion.
"I like [center] Tyler Linderbaum, I think he's a stud. That's one of five," McDonald said. "Ronnie Stanley has been extremely up-or-down ... They've even split time with him during games where they have him playing part-time reps and they have someone else in, like Patrick Mekari was the guy that would spell Ronnie sometimes. That seems to me like it would be dubious, that he could just go ahead and last another season and play well.
"Andrew Voorhees is a former seventh-round pick who hasn't started really before. Ben Cleveland hasn't played well when he's been in the lineup as a guard. And Roger Rosengarten is a rookie who's starting at right tackle who, I like his upside as a pass [protection] guy, but in the run game, I kind of expect him to get tossed out the club as a rookie."
On the podcast, fellow analyst Matt Harmon argued that his belief in the Ravens' ability to draft and develop and turn little-known prospects into productive players makes him give Baltimore the benefit of the doubt.
McDonald acknowledged that that's a "fair" belief, but said he is "deathly afraid" of the Ravens' offensive line.
"They lost a lot of snaps, they lost a lot of veteran presence from last season," McDonald said.
The offseason losses are concerning for a team that has dreams of making it to the Super Bowl after losing in the AFC Championship last season. But it's not as if the departures on the offensive line caught the Ravens by surprise, either. GM Eric DeCosta and head coach John Harbaugh both acknowledged that the Ravens would be remaking the line. And the Ravens wanted to get younger and more athletic on the line.
It is also worth noting that the Ravens' young, untested players could still make a positive impact when given the chance. If things go well, in a few months the NFL world might be applauding Baltimore's foresight in going younger.
But if those players can't step up into bigger roles, the offensive line does look like the most troubling area for the Ravens.
Watch the podcast comments below:
