An era of excellence is coming to an end for the Baltimore Ravens, with the news that guard Marshal Yanda is set to retire from the NFL. Yanda has been a bedrock of the Ravens offensive line since they took him in the third round of the 2007 NFL draft, starting 166 of the 177 games he has played. Since 2007, the Ravens have amassed the fourth-most rushing yards in the entire NFL with an appreciable chunk of their 25,883 yards coming thanks to Yanda doing work on the offensive line.
Yanda’s retirement, while maybe not totally unexpected, could force a re-think in the Ravens’ strategy with regards to team building this offseason. They could look to free agency to plug the gap left by Yanda, assuming they don’t want to hand the job to a player already on the roster. Or they could look to the NFL Draft. This is not considered a great year for interior offensive linemen, but there are few options should the Ravens want to spend a very early pick on one. Here are three names the Ravens may consider taking with their first selection.
Cesar Ruiz – Michigan
Ruiz spent most of his time with the Wolverines at Center, earning the title of “Best Pass Blocking Center” in the country by PFF College in 2018. But he did play five games at guard during his time in the collegiate ranks and could slide over there once in the NFL. Ruiz has a track record of playing on productive offenses, both through the air and on the ground. According to his bio on the Wolverine website, as a senior at IMG Academy, Ruiz “anchored an offensive line that helped the offense produce 2,000 yards through the air and 1,879 yards on the ground in 11 games.”
Ruiz is widely accepted as one of the best interior offensive linemen heading into the 2020 NFL Draft. If the Ravens are looking to replace Yanda with a rookie, Ruiz could be their guy as early as the first round.
Lloyd Cushenberry – LSU
Cushenberry is another player, like Ruiz, who spent the bulk of his time in college playing the pivot role of the center. However, many believe that Cushenberry might be better suited to playing at guard with the flexibility to slide back to center if needed. That flexibility is something Baltimore has typically loved from their offensive linemen and could make Cushenberry a little more attractive to the Ravens.
Cushenberry is coming off a season that saw the LSU Tigers put on an offensive clinic week in and week out on their way to a National Championship. The Tigers’ offensive line won the Joe Moore Award for the most outstanding offensive line in college football in 2019, led by Cushenberry who played the most snaps among the group.
While Cushenberry could work his way into the first round, not being a ready-made guard would make teams like the Ravens think long and hard about taking him that early. But if he sticks into the second round, Cushenberry could be a great option for Baltimore.
Jonah Jackson – Ohio State
If there is one thing that Jackson has displayed throughout his college career, it’s an ability to adapt to change. In four years at Rutgers and another with the Buckeyes, Jackson played under five different offensive coordinators in five different offensive schemes. Like the other players mentioned here, Jackson has experience at several different spots along the offensive line, making him flexible but not necessarily polished at one particular position. He spent time at both guard spots and center for Rutgers before settling in at guard during his season with Ohio State.
Jackson had a great showing at the Senior Bowl, earning a runner-up status on the All-Senior Bowl team from Draft Wire’s Luke Easterling. However, the scouting report by NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein notes Jackson is by far a better pass protector than road grader. As we all know, the Ravens offensive in his current form relies heavily on the ground game, but ensuring that Lamar Jackson is protected and allowed time in the pocket to throw can only be good in his development as a passer, and Jackson appears to be a player who could assist in this regard.
The first round may be a reach for him, with Jackson going in the third round in one of Easterling’s recent mock drafts.
