Who will protect Lamar Jackson remains a puzzle for Ravens

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — After a recent offseason practice, Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh was told that there is a lot of interest in what the team’s revamped offensive line will look like.

“I have a lot of interest in it, too,” Harbaugh said with a smile. “I think about it pretty much every day.”

The line has gone from one of Baltimore’s most experienced groups to its most pressing question mark. The Ravens are in the early stages of working out who will replace three starters upfront after right tackle Morgan Moses was traded to the New York Jets and guards Kevin Zeitler and John Simpson signed elsewhere in free agency.

Putting together a formidable offensive line is essential, as protecting quarterback Lamar Jackson became a key to success for the team. Baltimore went 8-0 when Jackson was sacked two or fewer times last season (including the playoffs). But when he was sacked three or more times, the Ravens were 6-4 — including a loss in the AFC Championship Game.

Baltimore has plenty of young options at left guard (Josh Jones, Andrew Vorhees), right guard (Ben Cleveland, Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu) and right tackle (Daniel Faalele, Roger Rosengarten). The Ravens have been rotating players along the offensive line all offseason.

The only players guaranteed spots on the line are Pro Bowl center Tyler Linderbaum and Ronnie Stanley, a seven-year starter at left tackle.

“You don’t know what guys are going to look like,” Harbaugh said. “I always want to look at guys in different spots, unless they’re established at that position. See where they look good, where they look the best, you never know what you might see. Then, see where they’re needed and also where they might be needed sometime during the season.”

The Ravens had one of the most veteran offensive lines last year. Moses, Zeitler and Simpson have combined for 363 career starts. They were effective too, with the line ranking in the top 10 in both run block win rate (fourth) and pass block win rate (ninth). But Zeitler and Moses showed signs of wearing down toward the end of last season, and Simpson was flagged for 10 penalties, including a team-worst six for holding.

Barring a free agent signing, the Ravens will rely on younger and more unproven blockers to take over. The six candidates to win starting roles on the line have totaled 32 starts.

“We’re in the development business right now,” Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken said. “All those guys are getting invaluable reps now, and obviously, once we put the pads on, for them, [that’s] where it will really be critical. We get a chance to play in the preseason, and then you can assess, ‘Hey, as they keep developing, what are their strengths? [What] do we need to continue to work on?’ And they’re doing a great job now, and I expect them to play at a really high level — I really do.”

Baltimore has proved it can develop offensive linemen. Since 2016, the Ravens have drafted six offensive linemen who have gone on to start multiple seasons in the league: Stanley, Alex Lewis, Orlando Brown Jr., Bradley Bozeman, Ben Powers and Linderbaum.

In this year’s draft, the Ravens addressed right tackle in the second round, when they got their targeted prospect in Rosengarten. The expectation is he will start at some point this season.

Baltimore did not use one of its nine draft picks on a guard, instead taking wide receiver Devontez Walker and cornerback T.J. Tampa in the fourth round. The Ravens understood they would probably miss out on their top guard prospects by doing so.

“We have some viable guys to compete … and we have some other veteran guys that we think have a chance as well,” Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta said. “I’m excited about the group overall. I don’t feel too bad about it, just because the type of guys that we got in the fourth and fifth round.”

Harbaugh believes not drafting a guard shows the amount of confidence the team has in the likes of Vorhees, Jones, Cleveland and Aumavae-Laulu.

“It wasn’t that we felt like we were desperate, [that] we had to draft guards,” Harbaugh said. “I know that those guys [already on the roster] are going to play great football for us. And then Eric [DeCosta], if we need to do something else, we will. There are still guys available out there.”