An era of excellence is coming to an end for the Baltimore Ravens, with the news that guard Marshal Yanda is set to retire from the NFL. Yanda has been a bedrock of the Ravens offensive line since they took him in the third round of the 2007 NFL draft, starting 166 of the 177 games he has played. Since 2007, the Ravens have amassed the fourth-most rushing yards in the entire NFL with an appreciable chunk of their 25,883 yards coming thanks to Yanda doing work on the offensive line.
Yanda’s retirement, while maybe not totally unexpected, could force a re-think in the Ravens’ strategy with regards to team building this offseason. They could look to free agency to plug the gap left by Yanda, assuming they don’t want to hand the job to a player already on the roster. Or they could look to the NFL Draft. This is not considered a great year for interior offensive linemen, but there are few options should the Ravens want to spend a very early pick on one. Here are three names the Ravens may consider taking with their first selection.
Cesar Ruiz – Michigan
Ruiz spent most of his time with the Wolverines at Center, earning the title of “Best Pass Blocking Center” in the country by PFF College in 2018. But he did play five games at guard during his time in the collegiate ranks and could slide over there once in the NFL. Ruiz has a track record of playing on productive offenses, both through the air and on the ground. According to his bio on the Wolverine website, as a senior at IMG Academy, Ruiz “anchored an offensive line that helped the offense produce 2,000 yards through the air and 1,879 yards on the ground in 11 games.”
Ruiz is widely accepted as one of the best interior offensive linemen heading into the 2020 NFL Draft. If the Ravens are looking to replace Yanda with a rookie, Ruiz could be their guy as early as the first round.