Ravens: Who will secure the starting LG position in 2023?

The Baltimore Ravens competition for the starting left guard position is gearing up as the 2023 season approaches. 

They’ve got some huge shoes to fill with the departure of the 6-foot-4, 338-pound Ben Powers, who signed a 4-year, $51.5 million deal with the Denver Broncos on March 16. Powers was the lone Raven to play 100% of the team’s offensive snaps with 1,096 – center Tyler Linderbaum was second at 99.82% (1,094), right tackle Morgan Moses sat at third with 93.43% of the snaps (1,024) and right guard Kevin Zeitler finished fourth at 87.32% (957).  

Powers was a strong pass blocker at left guard – providing a brick wall with zero sacks allowed in 2022 and an 86.5 pass blocking grade from Pro Football Focus. His miscues came in the running game, where he was constantly beaten on the first step and pushed around by stronger, quicker interior defensive linemen. Powers had just a 50.8 run blocking grade from PFF in 2022, finishing with a 62.9 overall grade. 

Patrick Mekari has taken all his snaps as a backup tackle since the 2021 season – a more natural role for the former California Golden Bears starting left tackle. Former Minnesota tackle Daniel Faalele has been deployed exclusively as a left or right tackle.  

Those two names can be crossed off the list. 

Trystan Colon-Castillo played 47 snaps at right guard in place of Zeitler in Week 14 against the Pittsburgh Steelers – owning a 72.5 grade from PFF in the game. He signed with the New York Jets on March 22.  

He’s gone as well. 

There’s a lot of inexperience with the Ravens candidates at left guard this upcoming season. Three players are rookies – two being undrafted and the one drafted rookie is a sixth-round pick. The fourth player is headed for his fourth season and lost his starting position following the 2021 season. One has made five starts in two seasons. 

Here are Baltimore’s five candidates heading into the 2023 season: 

Second-year guard Ben Cleveland 

Ben Cleveland played 12 games and started four at left guard in 2021, allowing one quarterback hit and seven hurries. Each of his 367 snaps came at left guard, but he commanded just a 55.8 grade from PFF for his endeavors. Cleveland played nine games and started the final game against the Bengals on Jan. 8 in a 27-16 loss. He took 78 snaps at right guard in the game but was inactive in eight of Baltimore’s 17 games in 2022. He finished with a 67.6 grade in 2022, providing a solid 78.9 mark as a pass blocker against Cincinnati’s reserves. 

Cleveland seemingly has the inside track at the position as the person most familiar with offensive coordinator Todd Monken’s scheme at Georgia, playing under the 57-year-old coach in 2020. The 6-foot-6, 370-pound Cleveland was named Second-team All-America by The Athletic, Third Team by the Associated Press and All-SEC First Team in the AP Coaches’ Poll as a right guard. 

He has the size, strength and ability to take players down. Alas, it won’t matter much if he can’t reach the defender to impose his will. The potential is there. However, it remains to be seen if Cleveland will become the guy at left guard because of his overall stiffness in his pass sets. 

Rookie guard Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu 

Baltimore brought in several players to jockey for positioning at left guard – beginning with the 6-foot-5.5, 317-pound sixth-round selection for Oregon’s Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu (pronounced muh-lie-saul-uh ah-moo-VYE law-oo-loo). Aumavae-Laulu started each of Oregon’s 13 games at right tackle, leading the way with 902 offensive snaps played – 878 at right tackle and 24 at right guard. 

He carried a 77.1 grade from PFF for his 2022 campaign, which is above average. The 24-year-old was part of a Ducks offensive line unit that only allowed five sacks in 13 games and was named a Coaches Pac-12 All-Conference honorable mention. 

While analyzing plays from Aumavae-Laulu while with the Ducks, he uses his body to redirect defenders as a run blocker and has the arm length to keep their hands from reaching inside to his chest. On the flipside, his pad level is high and he tends to lean over, which will cause him some problems in the National Football League.  

Fourth-year guard John Simpson 

John Simpson is an intriguing player for the Ravens as a two-time national champion with Clemson in 2016 and 2018, a former Consensus All-American in 2019 and First-team All-ACC pick in the same season. Simpson, a 6-foot-4, 321-pound fourth round pick for the Las Vegas Raiders in 2020, played in 35 games and started 21 in his first three seasons before being waived on Dec. 10 and subsequently signed to the practice squad on Dec. 19. 

Simpson struggled in both run game and passing game in 2022, compiling a 59.5 grade from PFF. While he didn’t allow a sack, his footwork often caused the pocket to collapse, causing now-Saints quarterback Derek Carr to run frantically – with not much help from the other offensive linemen. Simpson played the majority of his 181 snaps at left guard (126) and played 55 at right guard. 

Rookie Tashawn Manning 

Tashawn Manning is a former defensive lineman who converted to offensive guard and didn’t find his footing as a consistent contributor until 2020, starting in all 11 games for Auburn. He provided a 71.7 grade for Auburn in the following season in 12 of Auburn’s 13 games, per PFF – starting in three games with 353 offensive snaps. He found a more consistent role with Kentucky as a super senior and started in 12 of the Wildcats 13 games at right guard, missing one game due to injury. The 6-foot-3, 327-pound Manning earned a 69.8 grade from PFF for his 2022 campaign, allowing five sacks. 

Manning is wide and has long arms, but he isn’t the most athletic interior offensive lineman – evident in the number of sacks that he gave up in the uber-talented Southeastern Conference. Baltimore is a team that used a ton of pulls in Greg Roman’s offense and should do the same with Todd Monken’s rushing scheme. Manning would be limited in the suddenness of his movements in the running game, especially with his drop step on pulls. His athleticism will have to sharply improve to become a potential factor as a starter. 

Rookie Tykeem Doss 

Tykeem Doss is massive – standing at 6-foot-5 and 380 pounds. He too is a project and didn’t have a great deal of experience as a starter at Southern Mississippi. Playing in nine games and starting in six at left guard in 2020 and playing in eight games with three starts at left tackle in 2021.  

His hands are incredibly strong as a pass blocker and if he gets inside of a defender’s shoulder pads with his leverage and grip, it’s “barbecue chicken” as Shaquille O’Neal would say. Where he struggles is his hand placement, often getting his hands knocked down by going too wide. His lateral and vertical quickness as a run blocker leaves much to be desired, as he gets beat going downhill with swim moves and rips alike. 

The saving grace for Doss, just like Manning, is that they’re highly intelligent players that understand their schemes. Doss is a Fall 2022 Dean’s List honoree at Southern Mississippi. It’s just a matter of building their athleticism and conditioning to at least serviceable levels to make an NFL roster.