Ravens Draft Rumors: Baltimore Selecting BYU Offensive Tackle Kingsley Suamataia?
The Baltimore Ravens were one of the best teams in the NFL last year, and this year, perhaps even more than last season, the team will need a tremendous offensive line in order to capitalize on the advantage that Derrick Henry and Lamar Jackson give the team in the backfield.
However, this offseason, the team has undergone some pretty drastic losses in the trenches, which means the team could consider drafting someone like offensive tackle Kingsley Suamataia out of BYU.
Heading into next season, the only two remaining starters from Baltimore’s offensive line are left tackle Ronnie Stanley and Center Tyler Linderbaum, which means that adding talent up front should be of the utmost priority in order to allow the reigning MVP time to continue thriving.
Suamataia is a physical specimen standing 6-5 and weighing 326 pounds that has the potential to protect the Ravens' premier playmakers on offense and keep the team atop the AFC race in 2024. CBS Sports recently mocked Suamataia to Baltimore with the No. 30 overall pick and explained the rationale.
“(Tackle) Morgan Moses was traded to New York. While Patrick Mekari has the capability of fulfilling that assignment, his value is as a utility lineman that can play a variety of positions in a pinch,” CBS Sports writes. “The addition of Kingsley Suamataia, who played both left and right tackle for BYU, allows them that flexibility.”
At the NFL Combine, Suamataia ranked near the top of his class among offensive tackles in both athleticism and college production despite only playing for two seasons at the collegiate level due to redshirting as a freshman.
Ever since coming out of high school as a five-star prospect, Suamataia’s upside has been apparent, but the current knock on him as a prospect is that despite his size and strength, his hand placement when blocking could use some more consistency.
Luckily for Suamataia, the Ravens franchise has proven itself more than capable of drafting and developing linemen into some of the best players in the game. Just look at former offensive tackle Orlando Brown Jr., who was drafted by the team in the third round and went on to earn a contract with the Cincinnati Bengals that guaranteed him the most money in NFL history for an offensive lineman.
Baltimore has an eye for drafting talented linemen and developing them; Suamataia could be the next great lineman to continue the organizations successful draft history.