Ravens Likely Moving Away from Center in First Round Of Draft
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — The Ravens see Patrick Mekari as a viable option at center next season.
Baltimore also expects Tryston Colon to battle for reps at that postion.
While some mock drafts have the Ravens selecting Iowa center Tyler Linderbaum with the 14th overall pick, the team appears to be moving in a different direction.
“I think the center position, we have had some veteran players," GM Eric DeCosta said. "Let’s not forget Matt Birk who came in and really solidified us and really was a great player for us for a shorter span, but really helped us and really put us over the top, I think, upfront. We’ve also gone the younger route as well. We’ve had some guys, like Ryan Jensen, who went on to sign big contracts. We’ve had some other guys we’ve sort of piecemealed it times. We’ve had some injuries, as well, at that position. I think that that’s a position, No. 1, as we look at the Draft board every year, there are very few players that are truly centers up on the board.
"You might have four or five guys in a Draft class that you think are actually draftable prospects. So, one of the, I’d say, strategies that we see more and more teams do now is they take tackles and guards and convert those guys to center – bigger guys.
The goal for the Ravens is to build a big, aggressive offensive line that can bully opponents. Baltimore already has some good size with take Morgan Moses (6-foot-6, 335 pounds) guard Ben Cleveland (6-foot-6, 357 pounds), Ronnie (6-foot-6, 315 pounds) and Mekari (6-foot-4, 308 pounds,
"Often times, the smallest guy on your offensive line gets pushed into center," DeCosta said. "Our philosophy, honestly, is we want big guys. We want big guys at every position, across the offense, across the defense [and] in general. So, it’s a tough position to fill via the Draft at times. If there’s a guy … If there’s one or two outstanding prospects in the Draft, they typically go pretty high, and then after that, you’re looking at a bunch of guys that might be pretty good, or they might not be pretty good.
"I think one of the cool things about this Draft at the center position is we see four or five guys that we like that might not be first round-type picks and that might be second, third, or fourth round guys that we think would be good players at center this year. It’s a tough position to play."
