Ravens Can Solve Their Issues at Center With Bradley Bozeman

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — One of the Ravens' goals this offseason is to have more consistent performances from the center position.

Quarterback Lamar Jackson had to deal with some errant snaps that proved to be costly.

The team plans to address those challenges and the biggest fix could come internally.

Baltimore could move Bradley Bozeman from left guard to center, a position where he made 31 career starts collegiately at Alabama.

“I would defer to the coaches on Bradley," Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta said. "Bradley has played center, but we’ll play who we think should play at that position. We do have some other guys that could play the position. We had a couple games this year that we didn’t snap the ball very well. Both of those games, incidentally, were games with really bad weather conditions – high wind [and] rain."

The idea of moving Bozeman to center has certainly crossed the mind of coach John Harbaugh

"We have [Bozeman], who can play center," Harbaugh said last offseason. "There’s just a lot of ways we can do it."

This past season, Baltimore had ongoing challenges at the center position. Matt Skura lost his starting job midway through the season because of deficient snaps, but his replacement, Patrick Mekari, also had some struggles.

In the divisional round of the AFC playoffs against the Buffalo Bills, Mekari sailed a snap over Jackson's head near the end of the third quarter. Jackson suffered a concussion trying to retrieve the ball near his own end zone.

Imagine blaming the quarterback after a bad snap put him in this position. The Lamar Jackson hate is wild... pic.twitter.com/B8GJjPUX1j
— James Rapien (@JamesRapien) January 17, 2021

Undrafted rookie Trystan Colon-Castillo showed solid potential in limited action.

As a result, Bozeman could be the best option on the current roster.

In addition, the Ravens could turn back to the Crimson Tide to find Bozeman's replacement at guard with Landon Dickerson, who is projected to be a Day 3 pick. Just like Bozeman, Dickerson has the size — 6-foot-6, 326 pounds — to create matchup problems and has the versatility to play both guard and center.

Baltimore will have to find more consistency at the center position before the 2021 regular-season opener. Bozeman could be the best option.

"We have some guys that can play," DeCosta said. "A lot of guys have played for us – a lot of young players are emerging talents. We’ll also have a chance, I think, with the Draft and free agency to augment those positions as well. So, Bradley is an important part of the mix. We have some other guys that can play that position as well. We’ll find the best five guys and the best backups behind them, and we’ll start up in September.”