Ravens Staying 'In-House' With Starters on Offensive Line?

With three starters gone, the Ravens' team site broke down what the approach will likely be to replacing them. They heavily leaned toward Baltimore staying in-house and replacing them with players they've drafted over the last three years. 

Three candidates the Ravens site lauded were guards Ben Cleveland and Andrew Vorhees, and they noted Daniel Faalele could potentially getting a shot at becoming the starting right tackle. They also mentioned an early draft pick could provide competition for Faalele. Newly signed offensive lineman Josh Jones could be in the mix as well. 

Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu was another candidate the Ravens' team site mentioned who could be the mix to start at guard after he took first-team reps before losing the starting job to Simpson. 

Cleveland, a 2021 3rd-round pick, appears to be the player most likely to earn one of the starting guard spots, as he started seven games in his first three seasons, including two in 2023. In those two starts, he didn't allow a single sack and had a Pro Football Focus grade of 68.2. The team site compared his trajectory to Ben Powers, who started 17 games in 2022 before earning a four-year $51 million contract from the Denver Broncos last offseason. 

The site was also high on Vorhees, who was a seventh-round pick out of USC in last year's draft. A torn ACL led to him dropping from a Day 2 pick to nearly going undrafted and ESPN lead draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. compared his return to an extra second or third-round pick this year.

Vorhees started 44 games for the Trojans in his collegiate career and was a first-team AP All-American and Pac-12 in 2022. He also had multiple knee and ankle injuries, which should be a cause for concern. 

How well the Ravens drafted on the offensive line the last three seasons is going to be put to the test in 2024. If their draft picks pan out, Baltimore may not miss a beat on offense. But if the successors to the three players who signed elsewhere in free agency don't pan out, it could be a long season for Jackson and Co.