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Baltimore Ravens Q&A: Who starts at right guard and more

By Chris Schisler

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - DECEMBER 12: Wide receiver Marquise Brown #15 of the Baltimore Ravens and running back Mark Ingram #21 celebrate after a touchdown during the third quarter against the New York Jets at M&T Bank Stadium on December 12, 2019 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Todd Olszewski/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - DECEMBER 12: Wide receiver Marquise Brown #15 of the Baltimore Ravens and running back Mark Ingram #21 celebrate after a touchdown during the third quarter against the New York Jets at M&T Bank Stadium on December 12, 2019 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Todd Olszewski/Getty Images) /
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BALTIMORE, MD – DECEMBER 29: Ben Powers #72 of the Baltimore Ravens lines up against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the first half at M&T Bank Stadium on December 29, 2019 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MD – DECEMBER 29: Ben Powers #72 of the Baltimore Ravens lines up against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the first half at M&T Bank Stadium on December 29, 2019 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) /

It’s time for the second Q&A post of the month! The Baltimore Ravens Flock has submitted questions, here are my answers:

@DPRees8 asks: With the updates to training camp schedule, who do you think has the edge at right guard:

Answer: 

I do think the lack of a normal offseason and a sure to be different training camp does play a role in who becomes the starting right guard. The Ravens will be more likely to go with a safe bet, because one way or another they will have less to go off of this year. That doesn’t favor any of the rookies. Could I see Tyre Phillips or Ben Bredeson stealing the job during the season? Yes. Do I see them starting on day one? No. I think it becomes a battle between D.J. Fluker and Ben Powers.

Fluker adds a veteran presence and he’ll be solid. Fluker isn’t great, but he is the most known quantity. Powers on the other hand may not have much experience but he’s a second year player with more upside. The one thing that Powers has going for him is that he doesn’t have to learn the offense from scratch. He has one start, and while it was in a regular season finale that the Ravens didn’t have to win, he played well. Pro Football Focus graded his 30 snap performance at an 82.1 overall grade. That’s really good and it exceeded expectations.

If I had to guess, I would go with Powers. It’s a tight position battle, yet if the Ravens have their druthers they can start developing a young player as a starter. Powers starting would be a lot like Bradley Bozeman getting the starting job at left guard a year ago. It’s not something most people had penciled in, but Bozeman earned it. I think the Ravens have a pattern when it comes to the offensive line ascendancy. Give me the Ravens putting Powers on the line. I think he gets the first shot at it, with Fluker being his top competition in the beginning.

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