8 positional battles to watch for 2020 Baltimore Ravens
There will be a lot of competition on the Baltimore Ravens 2020 squad this offseason. We highlight the biggest positional battles here.
While some positions for the Baltimore Ravens are set in stone, such as quarterback and cornerback, others are a bit of a question mark. For most of these scenarios, it’s a good problem to have, as there are tons of good options to work with. There are a couple, however, that are important spots that needing filling with rather unproven talent.
We’ve gone ahead and highlighted the eight biggest positional battles to monitor this offseason. Some are more obvious than others, but every spot will be crucial to Baltimore’s success in 2020.
Right guard:
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Contenders: D.J. Fluker vs. Ben Powers vs. Tyre Phillips vs. Ben Bredeson
The retirement of Marshal Yanda hampers the offensive line in a big way. While the Baltimore Ravens are set at both the tackle spots, they need help on the interior. Truth be told, all three spots are wide open due to injury and decent play all around, but the right guard spot is the most intriguing position to be filled.
Baltimore recently signed D.J. Fluker, the former eleventh overall pick from the 2013 NFL Draft. Fluker has been a solid guard who never materialized into what he was supposed to be. Still, he seems like a guy who could easily make the Ravens final 53-man roster and carve out a significant role with the team. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him get started because of John Harbaugh’s “best five” mentality.
Ben Powers was seemingly drafted to be a future starter in the 2019 NFL Draft and now has the perfect opportunity to become such. Powers, a former fourth-round draft choice, looked like a clear front-runner for the spot before the 2020 NFL Draft, which saw Baltimore draft two more players to compete with and then later sign the aforementioned Fluker.
The two guys drafted were Tyre Phillips (third round) and Ben Bredeson (fourth round). Phillips is a big mauler and someone the Ravens have typically favored on their line. Bredeson is a more polished blocker who could simply be the safer of the two rookies.
Whoever gets the start at right guard here will have lofty expectations to live up to thanks to Yanda’s play for over a decade.