The Baltimore Ravens are currently projected to have 10 draft picks in the upcoming 2022 NFL draft, with the possibility of adding a few more. With those 10 picks, Baltimore could go in a plethora of different directions in order to inject young talent into their team and boost their depth. However, Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta could definitely look to prioritize the offensive line, which has been very inconsistent during the 2021 season.
When Baltimore is successful on offense, quarterback Lamar Jackson has time in the pocket to make plays down the field and the running game is hitting on all cylinders. However, when the Ravens’ offense struggles, Jackson has no time at all and running lanes are consistently closed. While football is a team sport, it all starts up front for an offense, so the offensive line unit is extremely important.
With a very important offseason coming up in a few months for Baltimore, investing in their offensive line to protect Lamar and spark the run game would do wonders for offense as a whole. They could opt to add a veteran or two in free agency, but the draft seems like a more likely option for the team to find a talented player or two (or more) who could either start right away, grow into a star with coaching and development, or even both.
In a perfect world for the Ravens, offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley will return at full strength and not miss a beat after barely playing over one and a half years, the team will see growth from some of their young players such as Ben Cleveland, Ben Powers, Tyre Phillips and others, Bradley Bozeman will continue to get better at center, Kevin Zeitler continues to play at a high level, and Ja’Wuan James returns from injury to be a solid contributor. However, it’s unclear how much of that will come to fruition, so it’d be wise to invest in a unit that has shown that it needs at least a few upgrades.
If I was drafting in the 2022 NFL draft for Baltimore, I would put a lot of eggs into the offensive line basket, even going as far as potentially using their first five picks on linemen. If the team can get top talent early on, they won’t have to rely on trying to find steals later on, although the team has proven more than capable of using both methods well.
While the Ravens don’t need to completely need to overhaul their offensive line, the unit certainly needs a few changes. Getting players back from injury and seeing some growth could certainly help, but getting a few blue chip prospects in the draft could go a long way for the team both in the present and the future.