3 Questions after 1st Ravens and Commanders joint practice. Baltimore drafted a ROY?

After securing their 24th consecutive preseason victory and celebrating such a historic feat by having a comfortable Monday practice, the Baltimore Ravens shifted gears dramatically on Tuesday as they welcomed the Washington Commanders for the first of their consecutive joint sessions at the Under Armour Performance Center in Owings Mills, Md.

The intensity escalated, temperatures soared, and tensions even flared into a scuffle between one of your Flock wide receivers and a Commies defensive back. Of course, there was also Mark Andrew's bodyslamming D.C. foes.

Amidst this dynamic atmosphere and in front of more reporters than ever at The Castle, multiple players shone on Tuesday, as reported from the facilities by witnesses. Tylan Wallace exhibited agile routes and impactful moves, Patrick Ricard reclaimed his customary fullback/tight end role, James Proche made his return, and Ben Cleveland persisted in taking reps on the right side of the offensive line, constituting just a few of the noteworthy developments of the day.

Here are three questions worth asking following Day 16 of training camp and the first joint practice between Ravens and Commanders, held on Tuesday at the UAPC in Owings Mills before both teams fight each other once again on Wednesday.

1. Is the left side of the offensive line already locked?

The first clue about the Ravens' offensive line outlook for the 2023 season came when the franchise released its first depth chart ahead of the start of the preseason.

The second clue came in the actual matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles on Saturday.

Following the first joint practice between Baltimore and Washington, though, the writing on the wall could have already been set in stone: Ben Cleveland is pretty much a forgotten man and a long-shot option to make it to the left side of the line with his lone chances going through taking reps at either right guard or tackle.

Ryan Mink of BaltimoreRavens.com wrote this about Tuesday's practice on his report following Day 16 of training camp.

"The Commanders have a very strong defensive front four, but the Ravens' offensive line held up well, even without left tackle Ronnie Stanley practicing. Patrick Mekari took the left tackle reps with the first team and John Simpson was at left guard. "

Ryan Mink, BaltimoreRavens.com

The Ravens went with John Simpson at LG and Patrick Mekari at LT in the absence of veteran Ronnie Stanley. Not even the latter's absence helped Cleveland get some reps on the left side, so you can consider him cooked.

It's going to be a two-man race for the starting LG position and it will only involve leading candidate Simpson and rookie sixth-rounder Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu. Those were the two names listed in the first depth chart on the LG column, and those are legitimately the two players under consideration to get the starting role.

Speaking of Stanley, Harbaugh said that he "was just protecting his ankle a little bit," and that he's not suffered any setback even though he's missed back-to-back practices to start the week while also not appearing in Week 1 of the preseason against the Eagles.

2. Do the Ravens really need more pass rushers?

Yes, yes they do. But bear with me for a minute here.

I was not present at the Under Armour Performance Center on Tuesday. There were many folks out there watching the first joint practice between the Ravens and the Commanders live on location. And they did God's work in sharing their thoughts and reporting on what was going on.

Ryan Mink of BaltimoreRavens.com reported that Odafe Oweh had three "sacks" against the Commanders' first-team offensive line. Mink added that fellow OLB Malik Hamm "also had an unblocked sack" and that he "got good pressure on the day."

Jonas Shaffer of The Baltimore Banner captured a pressure by Oweh on the Commanders' quarterback following those three sacks.

In his own practice report, which focused on the defensive side of the ball, Shaffer comprehensively described Oweh's day saying that he "had a would-be sack on the Commanders’ first play," and "a few periods later, he beat [an LT] on an outside rush for another sack."

Shaffer pointed out that Oweh "got his third after stunting inside," and reported CB Marlon Humphrey's words after practice quoting the defensive leader saying "Oweh and Ojabo have been 'looking really good' in camp."

Of course, the Ravens would do good adding at least some warm/rotational bodies to the fold at the EDGE position. Outside of Oweh and David Ojabo, there is only another starter-caliber outside linebacker in Tyus Bowser.

The Ravens have hosted Jadeveon Clowney (they already have offered him a contract) and Kyle Van Noy in the past few weeks and any of those additions would make a lot of sense.

The cornerback room already saw some additions arrive through training camp, so expect new signings to make their way to the EDGE stable soon.

3. Did Baltimore really draft the Offensive Rookie of the Year?

It's early in the season. Hell, it's not even the season yet, as we're still navigating the meaningless waters of the hot preseason, so it's incredibly soon to name any award winner. But things couldn't be looking better for the latest Ravens first-round pick, WR Zay "Joystick" Flowers.

Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic wrote a report discussing Tuesday's practice and this is what he had to say about Flowers.

"In his first rep, Flowers got a step on fellow rookie first-round pick Forbes to make a deep catch down the far sideline. Flowers then lined up against Rachad Wildgoose and made a diving catch while the Commanders’ cornerback had a hold of his jersey. In his third opportunity, Flowers shook defensive back Jartavius Martin before making the catch."

Jeff Zrebiec, The Athletic

The Ravens' beat reporter pointed out what we already know before writing that paragraph, basically saying that Flowers had already excelled against his teammates and Baltimore CBs in earlier practices.

Then, he let us know how he didn't do any worse against the Commanders' defenders. Flowers simply cooked anyone and everyone that dared face him on Tuesday's joint practice.

Zrebiec highlighted "how much separation [Flowers] creates and how many times he’s made the player covering him stumble or trip."

Ryan Mink of BaltimoreRavens.com also gave Flowers high grades. Mink wrote about the clip included above.

You can watch the Ravens WR facing fellow 2023 rookie and Washington's CB Emmanuel Forbes on 1-on-1 drills, and Mink described the action as: "Flowers cooked Forbes off the line of scrimmage and beat him deep by a couple steps for what would have been a long touchdown."

Let's not get overly cocky, but the Ravens might actually have drafted the absolute best rookie of the 2023 class of freshmen.

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