2022 OL Thread

JoeyFlex5 · Jan 10, 2022

rossihunter2 said:
Bernhard Raimann's cool and weirdly polished for someone so new to the game (somewhat like faalele but completely different style) - i dont think he's a great fit for the ravens though - great feet, and some nice tools to develop but i dont think he's someone you can anchor a power running game behind - showed some displacement with downblocks but not overly powerful and doesnt use his hands or length particularly well and doesnt have notable length - in a good or bad way - to begin with (and we know the ravens love their OL to have long-arms)

it was definitely nice to see though that his best game probably came against the best competition he faced in 2021 against LSU

reminds me of brian oneill a bit

Raimann is quite literally awful with his hands, the physical makeup is intriguing for sure but he allows every rusher into his body, no punch, reach, grab, swats, just hunker down and brace for impact literally every single time.

I get that he’s foreign and new to football but goddamn, it’s egregious, I can’t just look past that.

rossihunter2 · Jan 10, 2022

JoeyFlex5 said:
Raimann is quite literally awful with his hands, the physical makeup is intriguing for sure but he allows every rusher into his body, no punch, reach, grab, swats, just hunker down and brace for impact literally every single time.

I get that he’s foreign and new to football but goddamn, it’s egregious, I can’t just look past that.

i dont think he's that bad with his hands lol - i see examples of him fighting and replacing but normally just really passive with his hands and i'd like to see him be more active and more aggressive with his strikes
for me it's more of an issue that he's not a powerful puncher and as you say let's guys get into him too easily

great footwork though

ChainedBird · Jan 13, 2022

A couple of questions on Ekwonu for which I'm keen to get people's feedback.

1) I see Evan Neal regularly touted as the consensus OT1 in this class. Is he more promising of a rookie than Ekwonu ie if Neal and Ekwonu were both BPA in the first round, which would you pick and why?

2) Another thing I've heard from a few different places is that Ekwonu is more suited to being a guard in the NFL. The two main reasons given are his length and his struggles at dealing with speedy rushers. Are those fair criticisms? Is he likely to be a standout guard/swing tackle or a legit starting tackle in his own right at the next level?

rossihunter2 · Jan 13, 2022

ChainedBird said:
A couple of questions on Ekwonu for which I'm keen to get people's feedback.

1) I see Evan Neal regularly touted as the consensus OT1 in this class. Is he more promising of a rookie than Ekwonu ie if Neal and Ekwonu were both BPA in the first round, which would you pick and why?

2) Another thing I've heard from a few different places is that Ekwonu is more suited to being a guard in the NFL. The two main reasons given are his length and his struggles at dealing with speedy rushers. Are those fair criticisms? Is he likely to be a standout guard/swing tackle or a legit starting tackle in his own right at the next level?

i havent watched enough of neal to have an opinion on who's better - but i do get the impression that the ceiling's higher with ekwonu

and ive seen that "guard" stuff a lot with ekwonu - ill put it this way - i think he's gonna be a stud somewhere on the OL and I think that position is most likely at tackle but would not surprise me if a team that was happy with their tackles put him at guard - length not an issue and certainly no issues with his athleticism - my biggest issues with him are more technique-based with his consistency of landmarks on his pass sets where he sometimes oversets and opens up the inside - i dont see him struggle particularly with speed rushers but i do see him sometimes struggle with guys who are proficient with their hand usage who can take advantage of his occasional poor hand placement

All_black_everything · Jan 13, 2022

I came to talk about Ekwonu, I think he would be a great addition to the line. Either LG and insurance LT or RT

rossihunter2 · Jan 13, 2022

All_black_everything said:
I came to talk about Ekwonu, I think he would be a great addition to the line. Either LG and insurance LT or RT

he's one of my favourites

and if we drafted him and the best case scenario with everyone else on the roster happens (i.e. stanley, james both healthy) then my guess is he would play LG as a rookie but with the idea that he might convert to RT in year 2

alternatively they straight up let him battle for the RT job and if he wins it then great and jawuan james becomes your swing tackle with mekari your 5 spot backup and 4th OT

it would depend entirely on what the coaching staff and front office's vision for ekwonu is - if they view him as the RT of the future (assuming stanley's back) then it might be that they don't want to confuse things by making him learn LG - alternatively you let him remain on the left-side in year 1 at LG (given he played LT in college)

tbh i think id rather he stayed at tackle but also salivate at the prospect of Stanley and him playing next to each other

JAAM · Jan 13, 2022

All_black_everything said:
I came to talk about Ekwonu, I think he would be a great addition to the line. Either LG and insurance LT or RT

Isn't Ekwonu getting Osemele comps? I'd love any o-line help

All_black_everything · Jan 13, 2022

rossihunter2 said:
he's one of my favourites

and if we drafted him and the best case scenario with everyone else on the roster happens (i.e. stanley, james both healthy) then my guess is he would play LG as a rookie but with the idea that he might convert to RT in year 2

alternatively they straight up let him battle for the RT job and if he wins it then great and jawuan james becomes your swing tackle with mekari your 5 spot backup and 4th OT

it would depend entirely on what the coaching staff and front office's vision for ekwonu is - if they view him as the RT of the future (assuming stanley's back) then it might be that they don't want to confuse things by making him learn LG - alternatively you let him remain on the left-side in year 1 at LG (given he played LT in college)

tbh i think id rather he stayed at tackle but also salivate at the prospect of Stanley and him playing next to each other

I think a line of Stanley - Ekwonu - Bozeman - Zeitler - James would be amazing. letting Ekonwu get accustomed to the speed of the game and then give him all of the next off season to take over RT.

Or if James doesn’t practice well over training camp Ekwonu slides into that position and we hope one of the Big Country’s can run away with the LG spot. Either way I think resigning Bozeman and drafting Ekwonu would do wonders for our OL.

JAAM said:
Isn't Ekwonu getting Osemele comps? I'd love any o-line help

I have seen those comps and despite not being a film junkie I can definitely see it. Ekwonu plays with a nastiness that you don’t see often. Right up there with Jensen.

JAAM · Jan 13, 2022

All_black_everything said:
I think a line of Stanley - Ekwonu - Bozeman - Zeitler - James would be amazing. letting Ekonwu get accustomed to the speed of the game and then give him all of the next off season to take over RT.

Or if James doesn’t practice well over training camp Ekwonu slides into that position and we hope one of the Big Country’s can run away with the LG spot. Either way I think resigning Bozeman and drafting Ekwonu would do wonders for our OL.

I have seen those comps and despite not being a film junkie I can definitely see it. Ekwonu plays with a nastiness that you don’t see often. Right up there with Jensen.

Who is the other Big Country I keep reading about? Boze? Ben had a great game against the Steelers and I hope that carries over to training camp. I'd love for him to be the full time starter. I just can't trust James right now. I hope we hear something soon about Ronnie's status... I'd take Jensen back in a hot second lol

rossihunter2 · Jan 13, 2022

JAAM said:
Who is the other Big Country I keep reading about? Boze? Ben had a great game against the Steelers and I hope that carries over to training camp. I'd love for him to be the full time starter. I just can't trust James right now. I hope we hear something soon about Ronnie's status... I'd take Jensen back in a hot second lol

both Tyre and Ben Cleveland were known as big country in college

cleveland had his best game for sure against the steelers - but im hesitant to draw too much from it - we've been fooled by bens at guard playing well in regular season finale games against the steelers before

All_black_everything · Jan 13, 2022

JAAM said:
Who is the other Big Country I keep reading about? Boze? Ben had a great game against the Steelers and I hope that carries over to training camp. I'd love for him to be the full time starter. I just can't trust James right now. I hope we hear something soon about Ronnie's status... I'd take Jensen back in a hot second lol

Off topic but did I read some where that Jensen is an FA this year?

Let me dream for a second…. Pay Jensen instead of Bozeman, draft Ekwonu and field an OL consisting of Stanley - Ekwonu - Jensen - Zeitler - James.

rossihunter2 · Jan 13, 2022

All_black_everything said:
Off topic but did I read some where that Jensen is an FA this year?

Let me dream for a second…. Pay Jensen instead of Bozeman, draft Ekwonu and field an OL consisting of Stanley - Ekwonu - Jensen - Zeitler - James.

that's the kind of OL that gives you a pretty great pocket lol - and punishes anyone who wants to try anything inside lol - jensen and ekwonu are putting everyone on the ground lol

JAAM · Jan 13, 2022

All_black_everything said:
Off topic but did I read some where that Jensen is an FA this year?

Let me dream for a second…. Pay Jensen instead of Bozeman, draft Ekwonu and field an OL consisting of Stanley - Ekwonu - Jensen - Zeitler - James.

Jensen is a FA! I would LOVE a reunion

RaineV1 · Jan 16, 2022

One midrounder that we should take a strong look at is Cade Mays. Big, strong, and nasty lineman with experience at guard and tackle. Feels like a better version of Tyre Phillips. Will definitely need to fix up his technique and eased into play time, but wouldn't be useless if injuries happen, and has real potential as a starting guard or long term backup RT.

rossihunter2 · Jan 17, 2022

Got bored of just doing the senior bowl guys lol

and the perspective of getting to watch Ekwonu properly as well as a bit of Neal (so far) is really helpful when looking at some of the other guys i've done already

Ekwonu's mississippi state tape is genuinely ridiculous lol - some of the most dominant i've seen - in the first few minutes he's already sent multiple defenders to the turf in a variety of different ways

All_black_everything · Jan 17, 2022

rossihunter2 said:
Got bored of just doing the senior bowl guys lol

and the perspective of getting to watch Ekwonu properly as well as a bit of Neal (so far) is really helpful when looking at some of the other guys i've done already

Ekwonu's mississippi state tape is genuinely ridiculous lol - some of the most dominant i've seen - in the first few minutes he's already sent multiple defenders to the turf in a variety of different ways

Ekwonu looks so dominant I would be happy if he was the pick at 14.

would love to hear your thoughts when you’re done watching him

rossihunter2 · Jan 17, 2022

All_black_everything said:
Ekwonu looks so dominant I would be happy if he was the pick at 14.

would love to hear your thoughts when you’re done watching him

preliminary grade in the books - it's a top 10 grade
- all the good stuff is the stuff that everyone's mentioned - all the obvious things like the pancakes and the way he moves and the cinderblocks he has for hands
- i think there's some inefficiencies in his pass sets at times where he oversets sometimes and leaves the inside open to counters or sometimes opens his hips too early on some vertical sets - but that is all very much fixable and it's just a case of repping it and being more consistent

but like i love his hands, i love his violence, i love how he moves, i love how balanced he is

i think Evan Neal's the cleaner prospect but he doesnt have the violence in his hands that Ekwonu does - so ive got Neal stacked slightly higher at this early stage but they're both the exact same grade

i'll get to charles cross at some point but havent watched any of him yet (although i have watched a few pass rushers get stonewalled by him when watching them)

All_black_everything · Jan 18, 2022

rossihunter2 said:
preliminary grade in the books - it's a top 10 grade
- all the good stuff is the stuff that everyone's mentioned - all the obvious things like the pancakes and the way he moves and the cinderblocks he has for hands
- i think there's some inefficiencies in his pass sets at times where he oversets sometimes and leaves the inside open to counters or sometimes opens his hips too early on some vertical sets - but that is all very much fixable and it's just a case of repping it and being more consistent

but like i love his hands, i love his violence, i love how he moves, i love how balanced he is

i think Evan Neal's the cleaner prospect but he doesnt have the violence in his hands that Ekwonu does - so ive got Neal stacked slightly higher at this early stage but they're both the exact same grade

i'll get to charles cross at some point but havent watched any of him yet (although i have watched a few pass rushers get stonewalled by him when watching them)

you have him at guard or tackle?

rossihunter2 · Jan 18, 2022

All_black_everything said:
you have him at guard or tackle?

tackle - but also guard
but he's 100% a tackle if you want him there - but can be a guard for a team that has 2 tackles already

RavensMania · Jan 18, 2022

rossihunter2 said:
Got bored of just doing the senior bowl guys lol

and the perspective of getting to watch Ekwonu properly as well as a bit of Neal (so far) is really helpful when looking at some of the other guys i've done already

Ekwonu's mississippi state tape is genuinely ridiculous lol - some of the most dominant i've seen - in the first few minutes he's already sent multiple defenders to the turf in a variety of different ways

Neal is so dominant and so athletic for a man his size. Wow

2022 OL Thread

Hall of Famer

Staff Member

Practice Squad

Staff Member

Pro Bowler

Staff Member

Hall of Famer

Pro Bowler

Hall of Famer

Staff Member

Pro Bowler

Staff Member

Hall of Famer

Ravens Ring of Honor

Staff Member

Pro Bowler

Staff Member

Pro Bowler

Staff Member

Staff Member