Former Washington Huskies star Roger Rosegarten had made his presence known on the Baltimore Ravens offensive line. The man who protected quarterback Michael Penix Jr.’s blindside during Washington’s national championship run is now protecting reigning NFL MVP Lamar Jackson and creating holes for the league’s leading rusher, All-Pro Derrick Henry, and has quickly turned into an integral piece of Baltimore’s front.
Rosengarten didn’t take the starting job until the third game of the season, which is about the same time that the Ravens’ run game exploded. The former Husky is ranked No. 3 in the league in run block win rate, and Baltimore’s run game went from averaging 168 rushing yards to posting an average of 272.5 yards in his first two starts.
Those numbers subsided when Rosengarten suffered a minor ankle injury against the Cincinnati Bengals but jumped right back up in a 244-yard performance as the Ravens cruised to a huge victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta drafted the anchor of Washington’s Joe Moore Award-winning offensive line in the second round of the 2024 NFL draft for an organization that hasn’t started a player drafted that early since All-Pro guard Kelechi Osemele in 2012.
Rosengarten also grabbed the attention of NFL veteran Chris Long when he was sent in to take snaps for veteran Patrick Mekari, who was having a hard time containing Las Vegas Raiders defensive edge Maxx Crosby. The two-time Super Bowl champion had high praise for the former second-round pick on his show, the Green Light Podcast.
“This guy Rosengarten, he comes in, and I’m like, ‘Holy s***, is he blocking Maxx Crosby a little bit?’” Long said. “When he’s in, nothing catastrophic happens…What I saw was a guy who’s ready to play”
Offensive coordinator Todd Monken’s scheme has surged to the top of the NFL, leading the league in rushing yards, averaging over 200 per game, as Henry is on pace to have a 2,000-yard season.
While Rosengarten has struggled as most rookies do in pass protection, he has proven that he is a true road grader in the run game, making huge blocks and allowing both Jackson and Henry to rip off huge gains on the ground. His athletic ability and high ceiling make it easy to believe that he will not only remain a starter for the Ravens but that he could develop into an All-Pro in the future.
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