After the Baltimore Ravens lost Tyler Linderbaum in free agency to the Las Vegas Raiders, the team was left with a gaping hole at the center position. Ravens fans hoped that Eric DeCosta and company would find a quality replacement either in the draft, free agency, or the trade market.
Unfortunately, the Ravens simply signed two unproven centers, Danny Pinter and Jovaughn Gwyn, to address this void. As such, it should be no surprise to fans that Mike Clay of ESPN listed interior offensive line as the Ravens' biggest weakness.
"Interior offensive line. The coaching staff is new, but this is the same weakness the Ravens had in the previous two seasons. Baltimore could have three new starters on the interior. Standout center Tyler Linderbaum signed with the Raiders, leaving journeyman Danny Pinter (264 snaps played over the past three seasons) as the projected replacement. John Simpson was brought in as a slight upgrade over Andrew Vorhees at guard. There's some upside at the other guard spot after the team spent its first-round pick on Olaivavega Ioane," Clay wrote.
Personally, I'm far more concerned about the center position than anything else. Ioane is projected to be a massive boost to the guard room, even if Simpson isn't that much of an upgrade over Vorhees.
The Baltimore Ravens' unproven center room remains a major question
While Gwyn can't be ruled out, Pinter seems to be the favorite for the starting center gig. Trusting someone with 10 starts across five seasons is inherently risky business for a team with Super Bowl aspirations, and it could backfire in the worst way. Plus, the former fifth-round pick doesn't have much prestige to rest his laurels on.
We saw how often Lamar Jackson was put in harm's way with the shaky guard duo of Vorhees and Daniel Faalele last season. If Pinter (or Gwyn) doesn't pan out, similar problems could persist with a different culprit. And frankly subpar offensive line play has long been a shortcoming of the Lamar-era.
Overall, though, the Ravens had a rock-solid offseason, with the new-look coaching staff led by Jesse Minter looking like a much-needed upgrade. Furthermore, signing Trey Hendrickson gives them a high-end pass rusher they desperately needed, while drafting Zion Young bolstered their defense even more. Jaylinn Hawkins is a nice addition to an already impressive secondary.
With Lamar and Derrick Henry, your offense will always be pretty top-notch. Now, the Ravens didn't upgrade their wide receiving core in a major way, but Elijah Sarratt and Ja'Kobi Lane have promise, and Devontez Walker could be a breakout player.
The point is that the Ravens have a ton of talent and are strong just about everywhere. Yet the question remains: Is the man snapping the ball to Lamar a true starting-caliber player? If the answer to this question is no, then the Ravens' promising season could be derailed.
Simply put, to win at the highest level, you need to be strong everywhere, and for now the center position looks like a possible fatal flaw for the Ravens. At the very least, it's a major question mark.
Maybe Pinter or Gwyn proves to be a high-quality player, and DeCosta's decision not to add a more proven or higher-profile player is vindicated. Until proven otherwise, though, it's more than fair to say that the center position is a glaring flaw that looms over the Ravens amid a season with lofty expectations.
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