The Ravens plan on having Eugene Monroe as the starting left tackle going into next season.
But they also want competition and contingency plans if Monroe deals with injuries again like he has the last two seasons. Plenty of analysts think the Ravens may address the left tackle spot with the No. 6 overall pick in the draft, and the consensus top two left tackles are Laremy Tunsil from Ole Miss and Ronnie Stanley from Notre Dame.
Tunsil is expected to come off the board in the first five picks, but Stanley will likely be there for the Ravens at No. 6. However, Baltimore could use that first-round pick to address needs like pass rusher, linebacker or cornerback, and the team's top talent evaluators are confident they could find a quality left tackle in the later rounds.
"There are tough, physical guys that can play left tackle beyond the top two [prospects] in the draft, and we feel pretty good about those guys," Ravens Director of College Scouting Joe Hortiz said at the pre-draft press conference.
The Ravens have seven picks in the first four rounds, and they could use one of those selections to find a developmental left tackle. They've had recent success finding quality offensive linemen in the middle-to-late rounds, such as right tackle Rick Wagner (fifth round) and guard/center John Urschel (fifth round).
Baltimore also has respected Offensive Line Coach Juan Castillo to help groom a young prospect for a couple years. Players like Wagner, Urschel and Kelechi Osemele (second rounder) have all blossomed under Castillo's tutelage. If the Ravens added another prospect with a high ceiling to that group, then he could develop for a year or two behind Monroe.
Hortiz did not name any specific tackles who the Ravens may target after the first round, but some of the projected second- and third-day picks are Indiana's Jason Spriggs, Texas A&M's Germain Ifedi, Auburn's Shon Coleman, Stanford Kyle Murphy, Georgia's John Theus and Western Michigan's Willie Beavers.
