After choosing safety Malaki Starks in the first round and edge rusher Mike Green with their second pick, the Ravens took Emery Jones Jr. with their third-round selection in the NFL draft.
Jones, an offensive lineman from LSU, started at right tackle for the Tigers opposite left tackle Will Campbell, who the New England Patriots selected at No. 4 overall. The 6-5, 315-pound Jones played every snap last season at right tackle and nearly all of his snaps his first two years in college there. Still, the Ravens could view him as a future guard, where he’d have an easier and quicker path to playing time in Baltimore.
It’ll be difficult for Jones to start immediately at either tackle position with Ronnie Stanley and Roger Rosengarten entrenched on both sides. But offensive tackle depth is difficult to acquire, as the Ravens learned when Stanley spent stretches over the last few years sidelined with injury.
“I think it’s a good strong offensive line class this year, across the board,” general manager Eric DeCosta said last month at the Ravens’ predraft news conference. “Anytime you have a chance to draft an offensive lineman that you think can be a really good player, you should do that. Especially the way we play football, because we’re a team that prides itself on running the ball and being physical, knocking people off the ball, controlling the clock, protecting the quarterback, all those different things, and so I think that’s going to be critical.”
If the Ravens view Jones as a potential guard, there’s a potential opening on the left side opposite Daniel Faalele, a need that was heightened when Patrick Mekari departed in free agency.
“I think that if you’re looking at the offensive line, the defensive line and the outside linebackers as a whole, I would say they are the three strongest positions in the draft class,” DeCosta added.
This article will be updated. Have a news tip? Contact Taylor Lyons at tlyons@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/TaylorJLyons.