Ravens' next move with key rookie seems crystal clear to everyone (except the coaches)

The Baltimore Ravens have won five straight games and are now 6-5 on the season. However, if there's one thing plaguing the team, it's still their offensive line, especially their guard play. Lamar Jackson has already been sacked more times than he was last season, and he's only played in eight games. Yes, that's a real stat.

The Ravens drafted Emery Jones Jr. in the third-round of April's draft. All fans are begging John Harbaugh to give Jones a chance amid Daniel Faalele's and Andrew Vorhees' struggles. While Jones missed the start of the season with a shoulder injury, he has been practicing since early October.

Sunday's game against the New York Jets was (inexplicably) Jones' first game active as a pro. It wasn't exactly a shock that he didn't see the field, but eventually he will have to. The guards, and Faalele especially, have simply been that bad.

The Ravens must turn to Jones as Faalele struggles

PFF grades aren't everything, but it's worth noting that Faalele is posting an awful 54.3 grade. Furthermore, he's allowed 17 pressures for the season. Faalele struggles mightily to block in space; he often looks lost and doesn't block anyone. He looked a bit better on Sunday, but continued to make foolish errors.

Of course, Jones is a rookie, but it's hard to imagine he'd look worse than Faalele. If he does, fans would happily eat their words and apologize to Harbaugh. Regardless, why can't we see what he can do?

If the offensive line was humming, fans would understand not wanting to play the rookie. However, this o-line is so bad that it should leave Harbaugh with no choice. In addition, not being able to protect Jackson, Faalele is a key reason why the Ravens' overall offense has looked a bit off.

The Ravens rank just 21st in yards per game, a steep drop off from their top-ranked offense last season. In fact, the Ravens are averaging 110 fewer yards per game and 49 fewer rushing yards per game. Listen, there are a lot of factors here. Jackson missed four games, and frankly, he still doesn't look 100 percent. Derrick Henry has been good but not as dominant as last year.

Nevertheless, there's no denying that the offensive line has been a key part of the Ravens' shortcomings. The point is that changes need to be made. Unfortunately, Harbaugh has shown unwavering loyalty to Faalele.

Harbaugh mentioned in his press conference on Monday that Jones could soon get a chance as a rotational option to get his feet wet. It sounds like we could be getting closer to a change on the offensive line, and that needs to occur sooner rather than later.

As the Ravens fight for playoff positioning, their offense needs to get going, and changing the offensive line is the only logical change that could be made.