Patrick Mekari finished each of the last two seasons as the Ravens’ starting center.
Preparing to reprise his role as a valuable utility offensive lineman on game days, the 2019 undrafted free agent from Cal-Berkeley spent most of the summer working at left tackle and right guard in place of injured starters Ronnie Stanley and Kevin Zeitler. And despite playing well in place of benched right tackle D.J. Fluker in the second half of the loss at New England last November, Mekari may have been least prepared to play that position after the season-opening loss to Las Vegas when Stanley was again sidelined and and Baltimore moved Alejandro Villanueva back to his natural left tackle spot.
One of the best compliments you can pay an offensive lineman is that you barely notice him, which is a fitting way to sum up Mekari’s first three starts at right tackle. That’s not to say it’s been easy playing extensively on the outside for the first time since his Pac-12 days.
“The defenders are a lot different,” Mekari said. “Obviously, the interior guys are a lot bigger and stronger. The edge guys are also big and strong, but they’re a lot faster [and have] a faster twitch. Kind of just understanding the opponent and getting your technique down and your assignment down is different. But it’s a good challenge I’m looking forward to.”
The Ravens have to be pleased with Mekari’s performance after so much spring and summer talk about the lack of a swing tackle on the roster. Not only had they traded two-time Pro Bowl right tackle Orlando Brown Jr. to Kansas City in the spring, but top swing tackle candidate Tyre Phillips landed on injured reserve with a Week 1 knee injury, leaving Baltimore little choice but to turn to Mekari at right tackle when Stanley’s ankle still wasn’t right in September.
Outside evaluations are always subjective and made without full knowledge of a player’s assignment on any given play, of course, but Mekari enters Week 5 ranked second among offensive tackles in ESPN’s pass block win rate (96%) and has graded 45th among all qualified offensive tackles by Pro Football Focus. In Week 2, he and Villanueva got the best of Kansas City’s Pro Bowl defensive ends Chris Jones and Frank Clark in a 36-35 win. Last Sunday, Mekari certainly held his own against eight-time Pro Bowl edge rusher Von Miller, who finished with only one quarterback hit in Baltimore’s 23-7 win in Denver.
Not too shabby for someone who hadn’t really worked at right tackle all summer.
“Pat is a special kind of guy. He is as diligent as it gets from the moment he got here,” offensive coordinator Greg Roman said last month. “Very intelligent, very tough-minded, and he can figure things out instinctively. Once he does something, he can figure out how to fix it. You can get a lot of mileage out of that skill set and that profile.”
Viewing his versatility as a blessing instead of something in which he takes pride, the 6-foot-4, 308-pound Mekari hasn’t disclosed a favorite position after logging a combined 16 starts at right tackle, center, and right guard over his brief three-year career. But the Ravens know they’re fortunate to have such a valuable option to plug and play at a moment’s notice.
“Just being on the field is fun for me,” Mekari said.
Every-down Oweh
Rookie edge defenders typically play situational roles out of necessity, but that just wasn’t first-round pick Odafe Oweh’s style from the moment he arrived at Penn State in 2018.
Through the first four games, Oweh leads all Baltimore outside linebackers in snaps played, has been excellent playing the run, and has registered two sacks to quell concerns about him not having any quarterback takedowns for the Nittany Lions last season. The 6-foot-5, 251-pound Oweh has played 68.2% of the Ravens’ defensive snaps, which is a large share considering defensive coordinator Wink Martindale’s preference to rotate up front.
“Since freshman year when they were trying to make me a pass-rush specialist, I hate that. I don’t like doing that,” Oweh said. “I try to make sure I’m good in every phase, so that’s definitely my goal — to try to be an every-down backer and everything like that.”
PFF has graded Oweh 23rd among qualified NFL edge defenders and seventh among all rookies through Week 4, reflecting his immediate impact for a position group that lost former Pro Bowl selections Matthew Judon and Yannick Ngakoue as free agents in March.
Fast learner at punt returner
Return specialist Devin Duvernay has had some hiccups fielding punts early this season, muffing two — one wiped out by a penalty — and sometimes making the wrong decision on whether to catch the ball or let it bounce. But he’s also leading the NFL in punt return average at 18.9 yards per attempt, highlighted by his 42-yard return against the Broncos in Week 4.
Not bad for someone whose first career punt return at any level came in Week 16 last December.
“I’m honestly kind of learning on the fly,” said Duvernay, who hasn’t yet returned a kickoff this season. “This last year when they threw me back there at the end of the year was my first time ever doing it. I never did it in college or high school or anything, so I’m still kind of learning. But what coach says, part of it is just catching the ball and just running, so that’s what I’ve been doing.”
Bateman, Boykin back for Monday night?
On Wednesday, the Ravens will ramp up practice preparations for their Week 5 meeting with Indianapolis with much attention sure to be on rookie first-round wide receiver Rashod Bateman.
Head coach John Harbaugh said Monday that both Bateman and third-year wide receiver Miles Boykin “have a chance of playing” against the Colts after returning to the practice field for the first time since early August last week.
“They look great. They look like they haven’t missed a beat,” Duvernay said. “Definitely will be excited to get those guys back to help us, to help our offense, and continue to keep this thing rolling.”
