3. Some promising young talent is there:
Ben Powers may very well become a fixture at right guard. It’s hard not to like what we’ve seen from Patrick Mekari so far, especially considering that he was an undrafted free agent in 2019. Tyre Phillips has shown promise, in fact, his problem is that he needs time to develop more than anything. Trystan Colon-Castillo shouldn’t be written off just yet; he performed admirably against the Steelers in the Covid-19 delayed game.
The NFL doesn’t allow time for everybody to reach their full potential. All of these young players won’t develop into keepers and starters. One of the positives of this season is that the Ravens got some good tape on pretty much everybody they have had on the roster for this unit.
In a year where there was no preseason, scrimmages didn’t take place between teams as they have in recent years and, there was a weird offseason that’s incredibly valuable. Would it have been better to keep the offensive line healthy and unshuffled because everything was a dreamland paradise? Sure, but this wasn’t a year where everything went right. Seeing what everybody brings to the table is the positive impact of adversity.
If you told me that the Ravens have four of their five long-term starters on the roster right now, I’d believe that was possible. This group can’t be ignored in the offseason but you can’t discount the fact that a lot of young talent is being brewed in Baltimore. We will find out who is an up and comer and who will be trying out for other teams across the league in the coming years. What is certain is that the Ravens have more positive potential with their offensive line than they usually have.
So that’s what we’ve learned about the offensive line. It’s been pretty, ugly and, everything in between. It’s been a full-on experiment, one that is working out at the moment.