The Baltimore Ravens wrapped up their two-day mandatory minicamp on Wednesday with a six-week break until training camp kicks off at the end of July. Let’s get into the top storylines!
Center competition takes shape
Losing Tyler Linderbaum in free agency left a gaping hole in the middle of the Ravens’ offensive line. Head coach Jesse Minter has listed Danny Pinter, JoVaughn Gwyn, and Corey Bullock as the main competitors for the starting job, but noted that spring practices were more about setting up the battle than making any
decisions.
Bullock was sidelined by a minor injury for mandatory minicamp, leaving Pinter and Gwyn to split reps. Minter pushed back on the notion that Pinter is the clubhouse leader to be the Week 1 center, calling it a “pretty balanced competition.” Based on the eye test alone, it’s hard to disagree. As Minter noted, offensive line battles do not sort themselves out until the pads come on during the summer.
Lamar Jackson similarly declined to offer a detailed assessment of his potential centers, saying only that they are “competing well.” He added that he is liking his choices – but what else is he going to say? He no doubt misses Linderbaum, but as with the rest of the offseason, he is focused on looking forward and developing chemistry with a new partner at the line of scrimmage.
Based on their respective resumes, Pinter would seem to be the frontrunner over Gwyn, though the latter played under Dwayne Ledford in Atlanta for the last three years. That alone won’t propel Gwyn to a starting job, but Ledford brought him in for a reason. The new Ravens offensive line coach has a big voice in The Castle, and he has been working closely with both centers all spring. Bullock will have to catch up quickly in training camp to stay in the race, but at the moment, the starting center battle seems to be wide open.
Rookie report
Spring practices offer the first real chance to see rookies in action against their veteran teammates. The rules of engagement limit physicality and contact, but there stilled was plenty to see. First-rounder Vega Ioane already looks like a starting NFL guard, which is more than the Ravens could say about their top options last year. He’s not allowed to blow defenders off the ball, but his first step, hand placement, and pass protection all look ready for the regular season.
Second-round pick Zion Young is already showing signs of development under outside linebackers coach Harland Bower. Though physicality is a core part of his game, its absence in mandatory minicamp may actually have been to his benefit. Even compared to the beginning of OTAs, he played with better anticipation in terms of his timing off the snap and ability to disengage from blocks, get his hands up, and bat down passes. The 6-foot-5, 267-pound edge rusher has also flashed some inside counter moves in the pass rush, a key area of development for accelerating his production in the pros.
Big-body receivers Ja’Kobi Lane and Elijah Sarratt took turns showcasing their skillsets this week. Sarratt has largely thrived as an underneath target vs. zone this spring, but he flashed his ball tracking and contested catch ability on Jackson’s highlight on Tuesday. Lane has done most of his damage as an intermediate target in the middle of the field and has also put forth plenty of effort as a run blocker, which will be crucial to getting him on the field as a rookie.
Day 3 tight ends Matthew Hibner and Josh Cuevas did not stand out during spring practices. In fact, none of Baltimore’s tight ends did, which is quite the change from watching Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely dominate practices for the last four years. It is no cause for alarm – the rookies’ blocking fundamentals are arguably more important to develop right now. But this could be a small indicator of where the Ravens offense is going.
‘Baptism by fire’ is too extreme of a phrase to describe fifth-round corner Chander Rivers’ spring, but he has gotten a taste of high-level NFL competition right away. He was often tasked with man coverage on Zay Flowers, a big ask for most of the league’s cornerbacks, and, as you’d expect, gave up several catches in OTAs. With Flowers absent at minicamp, he was less exposed, but the playmaking on his college tape was still absent. Our scouting report on Rivers notes that he shines in zone coverage – which the Ravens will run a majority of time – and Minter believes this time against Flowers will only benefit Rivers’ development.
Sixth-round punter Ryan Eckley has a big leg. He did not hit many punts during the media viewing portions of OTAs, but at mandatory minicamp, he was consistently blasting balls 50 yards or more. He worked on a number of different punts with a few coffin corners that bounced out of bounds inside the 10-yard line. Tyler Loop has also praised his new holder, duties that are arguably just as important as Eckley’s listed job.
There is little to report about seventh-round defensive tackle Rayshaun Benny and guard Evan Beerntsen. They are relatively low on the totem pole in terms of reps and have not stood out in their respective position groups.
Roll call/injury updates
Minter said that every player on the roster reported for mandatory minicamp and any not at practice were dealing with minor injuries or illnesses (save for the ones recovering from major injuries suffered last year). Here is a full list of absences, several of whom could be seen on the sidelines at this week’s practices (* denotes at least one missed week of OTAs):
- WR Rashod Bateman * (both)
- LB Teddye Buchanan* (both)
- C Corey Bullock* (both)
- WR Zay Flowers (both)
- OLB Adisa Isaac* (Wednesday)
- DT John Jenkins* (both)
- DT Travis Jones* (both)
- DT Nnamdi Madubuike* (both)
- WR Elijah Sarratt (Wednesday)
- LT Ronnie Stanley* (both)
- CB Nate Wiggins (both)
Minter said that everyone should be full-go for training camp with the exception of Madubuike. It is possible he is forgetting about Buchanan, who suffered his knee injury in December, but the start of camp in late July is just short of the nine-month marker usually used for torn ACLs.
