Ronnie Stanley the best first round rookie this preseason

“With the sixth pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, the Baltimore Ravens select. . . Ronnie Stanley.”

After all the chaos surrounding the 2016 draft the Baltimore Ravens decided upon the offensive tackle from Notre Dame Ronnie Stanley rather than Myles Jack or Laremy Tunsil. So far, it’s been the greatest blessing in the past year.

Through three preseason games Ronnie Stanley has been a fortress of protection, stonewalling many pass rushers. Something hidden by the impressive pass blocking is Stanley’s ability to create huge running lanes for the ‘four horseman’ running backs of Baltimore to sprint through. Stanley couldn’t be a better rookie.

PFF posted their opinion on Stanley:

“If I had to pick one first-round pick who’s looked the most impressive this preseason, it would have to be Ravens LT Ronnie Stanley. We’ve seen over the past few years how difficult it is making the jump from college to the pros along the offensive line, but Stanley has been as clean as can be. In three games, he allowed one lone pressure, and that’s running against first-team defenses. Obviously it’s a limited sample size, but it looks like the Ravens picked themselves a good one.”

As Mike Renner already said, in three games Stanley has only surrendered one pressure, meaning no QB hits or sacks. The loss of Kelechi Osemele and Eugene Monroe was expected to cripple Baltimore, yet the rookie and a rotation of John Urschel, Ryan Jensen and Alex Lewis have quelled the stress. There may be a lapse later on, but so far Ronnie is proving to be just what Joe Flacco needs to make this team successful.