Training camp positional preview: Offensive line

The Baltimore Ravens are a franchise whom pride themselves on doing things in a fundamentally sound way; they begin with strength on the front end on both sides of the football. They expressed their interest in building up a Dallas Cowboys type offensive line, and while they certainly aren’t there yet, some recent investments suggest the interest is very much alive.

Two of those investments are players who manned the left side of the line for last season, tackle Ronnie Stanley, and guard Alex Lewis. If the Ravens are comfortable with what they saw from them in 2016, and nothing suggests they shouldn’t be, then it’s safe to assume that the young duo will be back to block for Joe Flacco’s weak side.

There is currently an open position in the middle of the line as center Jeremy Zuttah was traded to San Francisco. He had been a solid player up until last season, when he let his discipline slip. Regardless, the spot needs to be filled, and it may come down to Ryan Jensen or John Urschel. They’ve both seen time there in the past, but also have documented flaws; don’t be surprised to see an addition such as Nick Mangold take place ahead of camp.

At right guard, Marshal Yanda will return for his tenth NFL season, and quite frankly, there’s nothing to say about him other than it’s a travesty that people often fail to mention him in the conversation with Zack Martin and Kelechi Osemele for the best at his position.

Right tackle is where the questions seriously begins. There wasn’t an in-house option to replace Ricky Wagner when he departed in free agency, and it looks like that may leave James Hurst or rookie Jermaine Eluemunor to play the role. Neither are necessarily ideal at this point, and unless a signing or trade takes place, this could be a problem position for Baltimore in 2017.

While there are certainly questions along the line, it is a position the Ravens have demonstrated an ability to adequately fill out in a tough spot. It looks like they may have their work cut out for them in doing so over the coming month.