The Baltimore Ravens will get another preseason tilt, this time against the Green Bay Packers. While a number of Ravens excelled last week in Baltimore’s blowout win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, some roster battles aren’t completely settled yet. With a chance to showcase their skill against Green Bay’s starters for a quarter, these 3 roster battles are the most important ones for Ravens fans to keep an eye on tonight.
Left guard:
This position is a mess right now. The Ravens seem to have placed James Hurst at right tackle, leaving the job pretty wide open. Alex Lewis was the projected starter but was then traded to the New York Jets. Jermaine Eluemunor got a chance to start last week and didn’t fare too well. Baltimore doesn’t seem to eager to throw rookie Ben Powers into the starting lineup quite yet for some reason. Now it seems undrafted free agent Patrick Mekari might be getting his chance after running with the first-team offense in practice.
The Ravens don’t really have a lot of time to figure out their starter here. They’ll need at least a little time to get the starting lineup together and have them gel before the start of the regular season. That means whoever shows up tonight could be making the job theirs.
Running back:
The top of the depth chart is pretty well cemented. Mark Ingram and Gus Edwards are going to lead this unit. But with so many other great players on the roster at other positions, Baltimore might not want to keep four running backs in exchange for less depth elsewhere. Rookie Justice Hill might not be a complete lock to make the 53-man roster yet but he’s going to have to lose his spot rather than earn one. That boils it down to if any other running back can warrant the Ravens sacrificing depth at other positions to keep them.
Kenneth Dixon didn’t get a lot of touches last week but did break off a large run. Tyler Ervin and De’Lance Turner are interesting prospects but both need to show their value on special teams in order to really have a shot at making Baltimore’s 53-man roster.
Look for big plays, both on the ground and through the air for these guys. For Ervin, he’s been getting some time at punt returner and showed a little flash last week. He’ll have to not let the ball hit the ground and consistently break off big gains on punts to get more snaps on offense.
Wide receiver:
I don’t think there’s a single spot on this depth chart that is safe. While some players are locks to make the 53-man roster, their placement on the depth chart is still up in the air. Beyond the starting lineup, there’s likely one or two spots left wide open at wide receiver for players to snag.
Willie Snead and Chris Moore likely have some hold on the starting lineup in their respective roles since they’re holdovers from last year. But the addition of Miles Boykin, Marquise Brown and Seth Roberts puts everything into question at the top of the depth chart. The Ravens will want to see consistency from their starters, meaning if guys show up regularly when they’re on the field and in multiple games as well as practice, they’ll likely earn more playing time come Week 1.
Guys like Antoine Wesley and Jaylen Smith have had flashes at practice but can either of them become more consistent and show up in a game? Michael Floyd is a savvy veteran who could really help this team but is he definitively better than some younger options? Can Boykin back up his impressive debut from last week and get rid of the drop problems that plagued him against the Jaguars? These questions will start getting answered tonight against the Packers.
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