The Ann Arbor to Charm City pipeline could be primed to keep flowing.
The Baltimore Ravens are undergoing a rebuild of their offensive line this offseason and currently have three vacancies in the starting lineup after letting offensive guards John Simpson and Kevin Zeitler walk in free agency, and trading right tackle Morgan Moses. Thankfully, this is the perfect year to need an infusion of young talent in the offensive trenches as it is arguably the deepest position in the in recent NFL Draft history.
There is near certainty the Ravens will come away with at least two offensive linemen in this year’s draft and a prospect to keep an eye on in Day 3 is Michigan’s Karsen Barnhart. According to the Draft Network’s Justin Melo, team representatives from both the Ravens and Los Angeles Rams met with the Barnhart on Thursday, ahead of the school’s pro day on Friday.
#Michigan is holding Pro Day today & I’m told OL Karsen Barnhart met w/ #Rams & #Ravens (dinner) yesterday.
Meets w/ #Seahawks + #NYG today. #Lions Local Day.
Athletic, versatile OL w/ 31 career starts at RT/LT/LG/RG. Barnhart ran an outstanding 1.75 10-yd split at NFL Combine. pic.twitter.com/CWHkZAHK4d
— Justin M (@JustinM_NFL) March 22, 2024
Barnhart is an athletic lineman who is great at executing pull blocks in the run game, has experience playing both guard and tackle and made 31 starts in college for the reigning national champion Wolverines. He had an impressive showing at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine, recording an impressive 1.75-second 10-yard split when running the 40-yard dash and his relative athletic score of 9.31 ranked No. 101 out of 1,459 guards dating back to 1,987, pending the results from his pro day.
Watching Karsen Barnhart pull from the right guard spot (Zak Zinter’s position) and lay out the lead block on Corum’s game winning touchdown run is the stuff of legend. @k_ballin__ you are my hero. pic.twitter.com/rp1AhBVVNa
— Wolverine Chronicle (@WolverineChron) January 2, 2024
Positional versatility is a trait every team in the NFL values but arguably none more so than the Ravens. Ravens offensive line coach Joe D’Alessandris is one of the best developers of talent at the position in the league, who has helped several mid-to-late round linemen become starters since being hired in 2017.
Even though Head Coach John Harbaugh’s younger brother, Jim Harbaugh, is no longer at the helm of the program after getting hired as the head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers this offseason, the Ravens still have strong ties and in-depth knowledge of the Michigan prospects. Barnhart isn’t likely to hear his name called on the first two days of the draft, but could be a potential target for the Ravens as early as the fourth round.