One of the Ravens' biggest needs entering the draft was at center following the departure of Pro Bowler Tyler Linderbaum in free agency.
By the end of the three days, the Ravens came away with 11 new rookies but zero true centers.
So, why didn't the Ravens draft a center? General Manager Eric DeCosta answered that following the draft, saying it was "unfortunate," while expressing his confidence that the Ravens will have a solution by the time they line up to play.
DeCosta said there were two centers they "really liked" who both went in the second round. At pick No. 45, Baltimore selected outside linebacker Zion Young, a borderline first-round talent.
At pick No. 57 in the second round, the Chicago Bears selected center Logan Jones, the 2025 Rimington Trophy Winner, who replaced Linderbaum at Iowa. At pick No. 63 in the second round, the Los Angeles Chargers selected center Jake Slaughter out of Florida.
That was earlier than most draft pundits, and DeCosta, expected. Most pundits expected them to go in the third or fourth round. However, just as with Linderbaum, the value other teams placed on getting a center "priced" the Ravens out.
"I was a little surprised. I would probably attribute that to the run on offensive linemen in the first and second round, and that trickle-down effect," DeCosta said.
Baltimore wasn't on the clock again until pick No. 80 in the third round. DeCosta said the Ravens "really assessed" whether it was worth it to trade up, but it would have cost them a third, fourth, and fifth-round pick to do so.
"Probably prohibitive for us to get up that high in the draft," DeCosta said. "Would I rather have Ja'Kobi [Lane], [Elijah] Sarratt, and [Matt] Hibner? I probably would than one player at that point. … Honestly, like looking at this list of [our drafted] players, I probably wouldn't do anything differently."
After the two centers the Ravens liked most were gone, they didn't see enough value to pull the trigger on a Day 3 pick.
The Las Vegas Raiders took Trey Zuhn III later in the third round (No. 91). The Cincinnati Bengals selected Connor Lew late in the fourth (No. 128), the Carolina Panthers took Sam Hecht early in the fifth (No. 144), and the Cleveland Browns picked Parker Brailsford two picks later.
"They're good players, but there's nobody that's going to necessarily be an impact player for us this year," DeCosta said.
The Ravens have three in-house options to compete for the job: Danny Pinter, Jovaughn Gwyn, and Corey Bullock. Pinter was an early fifth-round pick of the Colts in 2020 and has played in 77 games with 10 starts.
"I think we feel good about them competing," Head Coach Jesse Minter said.
The Ravens also drafted mauling offensive guard Vega Ioane in the first round and invested in veteran John Simpson at the other guard spot. While they didn't draft Linderbaum's replacement, they have still fortified their interior offensive line in a major way. Those two towering guards will help whatever center ends up with the job.
The Ravens could, of course, still make additions. It's still April, and there's a long way to go this offseason as teams cut veterans, remaining veteran free agents come back into focus, and trades are made ahead of the season.
"I do think we'll have a plan at the position, I feel confident in saying that," DeCosta said. "I think we have a couple guys here that will compete for that position. But as the Hall of Fame General Manager [Ozzie Newsome] once said, 'You don't play games until September.' And I think we'll have a great offensive line at that point."
