The Baltimore Ravens have one of the best tackles in all of football with Ronnie Stanley. However, he suffered a gruesome leg injury in the middle of the 2020 season that left a massive hole on Baltimore’s offensive line.
When looking at the best 11 tackles in the NFL, Doug Farrar of The Touchdown Wire named Stanley as a top-five tackle, slotting him in at the No. 3 spot. Farrar pointed to Stanley’s impact on the passing offense, which suffered without him on the field.
“Stanley missed all but six games in the Ravens’ 2020 season with an ankle injury, and Baltimore’s offense — especially the passing offense — suffered in his absence, predominantly from a pressure perspective. Per Sports Info Solutions, the Ravens had a blown block pressure rate of 13.5% when Stanley was off the field, and 7.2% when he was lined up at left tackle. Orlando Brown Jr., now with the Chiefs, did a pretty nice job holding things together in Stanley’s stead, but there are reasons Stanley was our top offensive tackle in last season’s rankings, and as long as he returns to form in 2021, there’s no reason not to expect the same level of play we’ve seen from Stanley since he came into the NFL as Baltimore’s first-round pick in 2016. Last season, Stanley gave up no sacks, one quarterback hit, and five quarterback hurries in 176 pass-blocking snaps, and in 2,467 career pass-blocking snaps, he’s given up just nine sacks, eight quarterback hits, and 78 quarterback hurries. Not bad when you’re protecting a quarterback in Lamar Jackson who often forces his linemen to protect beyond the breaking point due to his mobility.”
There’s no doubt that Stanley makes the Ravens’ offense significantly better when he’s on the field. His return to the lineup will be a big boost to the team, and he’ll look to protect his quarterback in Lamar Jackson with another great year in 2021.
The only two tackles ranked higher than Stanley are San Francisco 49ers tackle Trent Williams and Green Bay Packers tackle David Bakhtiari