LBs L.J. Fort and Jake Ryan
Linebacker is one of the biggest question marks for Baltimore this offseason. While they’ve had a long and storied history at the position with some all-time greats wearing purple and black, it’s seeing a downgrade in this pass-happy era. No longer is there a huge need for a three-down linebacker in today’s NFL and the Ravens seem to be building the position in that direction as well.
When you look at the two guys currently penciled in for starting spots — Fort and Ryan — you see two guys that do one thing pretty well. Fort is athletic and solid in coverage while Ryan is far better at run defense. With safeties like Chuck Clark, Anthony Levine and Elliott able to come down and play linebacker in some of Baltimore’s defensive packages, it seems as though the Ravens are filling specific roles with niche players.
But this draft has some top-end talent at inside linebacker that’s expected to fall to Baltimore at the end of the first round. Guys like Patrick Queen and Kenneth Murray have been frequent picks for the Ravens in mock drafts and both guys fit the three-down linebacker role far better than anyone Baltimore has on their roster currently.
If the Ravens were to grab one of those top linebackers, it could push either Fort or Ryan down the depth chart. On the flip side, if Baltimore waits until later rounds or doesn’t take an inside linebacker at all in the 2020 NFL Draft, it might point to them being confident in Ryan and Fort as rotational options to fill the starting job. Their place on the depth chart is likely going to be defined at some point in the draft, one way or another.