John Harbaugh and the Ravens shuffling their coaching staff won’t exactly endure as the offseason’s biggest headline, but how these newcomers fare with their position groups will go a long way in determining the team’s level of success in 2022.
Generally speaking, position coaches don’t receive much attention when their units play well, but they’ll quickly find an undesirable spotlight if their players regress or fail to take the next step in their development. These new assistants will be responsible for coaching some young players of the utmost importance to Baltimore’s future.
Below is a look at a top objective for each new position coach joining John Harbaugh’s staff:
George Godsey – Find an understudy for Mark Andrews
The Ravens’ press release cited Godsey developing Miami’s Mike Gesicki as well as working with future Hall of Famer Rob Gronkowski in New England years ago, but the new tight ends coach now inherits the man who was the best tight end in football last season, meaning there isn’t much more for Mark Andrews to learn beyond doing what’s necessary to remain an elite player. That said, developing some depth behind the 2021 All-Pro selection is a must after Nick Boyle struggled to regain his pre-injury form last season and Josh Oliver made little impact in his first season with the Ravens. Whether it’s getting more out of Oliver or practice-squad tight end Tony Poljan, welcoming a value free agent, or developing a later-round rookie, Godsey and the Ravens need some semblance of a contingency plan if something were to happen to Andrews.
Rob Leonard – Guide Odafe Oweh to take the next step
The new outside linebackers coach oversaw Miami first-round pick Jaelan Phillips ranking second among all rookies with 8 1/2 sacks last season, so the Ravens hope he can pick up with Oweh, who ranked second on the Ravens in sacks (five) and quarterback hits (15) and second among NFL rookies in pressures (49). Those numbers coupled with Pro Football Focus grading Oweh as Baltimore’s top edge defender against the run already present a high floor for a young player many labeled a boom-or-bust prospect before the 2021 draft. Still, the Ravens would really benefit from the Penn State product blossoming into the kind of consistent double-digit sack threat they’ve lacked since the days of Terrell Suggs, and Leonard will be trusted to bring out the best from the talented 6-foot-5, 251-pound outside linebacker.
8
Zach Orr – Help Patrick Queen look like a first-round pick in pass coverage
We’ve discussed Queen’s play at great length, but the Ravens selected him with the 28th overall pick two years ago to be a clear upgrade in pass coverage, which was the part of the game viewed as C.J. Mosley’s biggest weakness when he left via free agency a year earlier. Instead, the 6-foot, 232-pound Queen has struggled to find his footing with PFF grading him 74th out of 80 qualified off-ball linebackers in coverage this past season and Pro Football Reference painting a more difficult season in coverage than he experienced as a rookie. Orr being Queen’s third inside linebackers coach in three years isn’t ideal — though Mike Macdonald has returned to become defensive coordinator — but this figures to be a pivotal season for the LSU product. In today’s NFL, teams don’t draft off-ball linebackers in the first round to have such problems in coverage.
Mike Devlin – Identify the long-term answer at left guard
To be clear, the 52-year-old is only the assistant offensive line coach, but his past experience as an offensive line coach for Houston and the New York Jets does make you wonder if his hiring came with at least some potential thought of him eventually succeeding Joe D’Alessandris, who turns 68 this spring. Regardless, there are so many moving parts along the offensive line that it’s difficult to nail down a specific goal — beyond the unit’s overall improvement — without knowing more about the free-agent status of Bradley Bozeman or the long-term health of Ronnie Stanley. What we do know is the Ravens have selected Ben Powers, Tyre Phillips, Ben Bredeson, and Ben Cleveland in the middle rounds of the last three drafts while left guard is still a question mark. That really needs to change as the Ravens sort out the center and offensive tackle spots.
