Over the last few weeks, Touchdown Wire writers Mark Schofield and Doug Farrar have been running a series looking at the best players at their respective position groups heading into the 2020 season. The latest offering looked at the offensive tackle group, and a name familiar to Ravens fans was sat atop the perch at No. 1.
In Schofield’s words, Ravens left tackle Ronnie Stanley was “almost perfect” in 2019. Stanley gained massive amounts of praise for last season, earning a PFF pass-blocking grade that put him alongside Hall of Fame linemen. Stanley allowed just six quarterback pressures all season, with none resulting in sacks until the AFC Divisional Round game against the Tennessee Titans. While those numbers are impressive, what’s even more impressive was the competition Stanley lined opposite of throughout the season — top pass rushers like Chandler Jones and Nick Bosa.
Stanley certainly picked a great time to enter the upper echelons of his position group, as he is set to play out the 2020 season on his fifth-year option, the terms of which make him one of Baltimore’s biggest salary cap bargains of the season. This comes after a 2019 season that saw him earn his first Pro Bowl nod as well as an All-Pro berth. Another season where Stanley excels to that degree and he could easily get a record-breaking contract for offensive tackles, beating the already sky-high deal Laremy Tunsil signed this offseason with the Houston Texans. Not to mention keeping Lamar Jackson upright as the MVP of the league looks to build on last year’s successes.
Go check out Schofield’s article where he breaks down the magnificence that was Stanley’s All-Pro 2019 campaign.
[vertical-gallery id=49465]