A Little “What If” With Orlando Brown, Jr.
As a Marvel fanboy – Marvel Cinematic Universe and the Marvel Comics property – I am a tad bit in the weeds on how much Marvel content I consume. I can’t get enough. My wife says I have a problem.
For Marvel true believers out there, you might know about one of the latest shows to pop up on Disney+ called “What if…” The premise of “What if…” is actually based on a popular comic that would take fun hypothetical transformations of long-standing storylines based on one event changing the course of everything that follows. For example, “what if” Spider-Man was bit by a radioactive Rhino instead? A better, real-world example from the show – what if Doctor Strange lost his heart instead of his hands?
You get the idea. Based on the change in events, not only does the character change, but the events surrounding that character also change.
I wanted to apply the same storytelling device to the Baltimore Ravens.
Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about the construction of the current offensive line. This line has been scrutinized all season by analysts, media and the fans. Due to injury, some questionable roster moves, and general awful luck (more on that in a second), this line has been a roadblock to the offense achieving its peak potential of productivity. They have certainly taken steps back from that 2019 juggernaut unit that paved the way for the most productive offense in Ravens history.
The Ravens have struggled to protect the quarterback (their 48 sacks allowed still leads the league) and open up holes in the run game with consistency. The latter point could be disputed by someone just looking at the numbers, as the Ravens are still third in rushing overall. Much of that production has come from Lamar Jackson and most recently Tyler Huntley.
To be clear, the run game is not up to Ravens’ standards, which has been an all-time best rushing attack. Whether that is fair criticism is worth discussing. But the pass pro woes cannot be denied. Some of those sacks allowed also fall on the quarterback holding the ball too long and other breakdowns in the offense.
How did this line arrive here? And is it fair to say that General Manager Eric DeCosta didn’t do enough to build up an offensive line that clearly needed an injection of talent in the offseason?
Let’s start with this simple question: What if…Orlando Brown Jr. didn’t request a trade?
The line as we know it would not be what it is today. Seems obvious, right? Let’s make sure we follow the vision of the front office with OBJ versus without.
Remember, Brown had previously made it publicly known that he thought of himself as a left tackle through his Twitter account in late January.
When things like this initially happen, there is an internal effort to figure out if this was a “line dug in the sand” declaration from Brown’s camp or was he simply having a moment. However, an official report from Ian Rapoport solidified that Brown wanted to be traded. And he specifically wanted to be traded to a team where he could start at left tackle. That trade request upped the ante. It didn’t seem like smoke or a bluff at this point, and then Brown went on the record again right before the NFL Draft.
Meanwhile, that unexpected request did not deter the Ravens from making immediate moves to improve the offensive line with Brown in mind at right tackle. They signed Kevin Zeitler on the first day of free agency, and not too long after, declared that they planned to move Bradley Bozeman from left guard to center, his natural position at Alabama. These moves suggest that DeCosta and the brass wanted to upgrade the talent up front all along.
Bozeman + Zeitler + Brown + Stanley looks pretty damn good on paper, right? As it turned out, Bozeman and Zeitler have been playing well all season. Bozeman is a natural at center. He’s ended the center drought the team has experienced since Ryan Jensen moved on to Tampa Bay in free agency. Zeitler has been outstanding in pass protection and has cleaned up a lot of the stunts and interior pass rush issues the team encountered the year prior.
Ultimately, even with the vision of Zeitler playing with Bozeman, Brown and Stanley, the front office eventually pulled the trigger and granted Brown his wish when they shipped him off to Kansas City.
If this group were able to play together, it would be among the top five lines in the league.
If Brown would have accepted remaining at right tackle, that would have perhaps impacted the way the team approached Ronnie Stanley’s offseason recovery from a devastating ankle injury in 2020.
Did the team rush Stanley back too soon so he’d be ready for Week One against the Las Vegas Raiders? As it stands, that was the only game Stanley played all season. He had a setback with the ankle and he has now missed his second consecutive season after being arguably the best LT in the game in 2019.
With Brown, maybe Stanley would ease back into the starting lineup. Maybe he would have been placed on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list. Or, if Stanley went down again altogether, Brown could have shifted back to left tackle, and he’d be able to reprise his coveted role on the blind side.
Would the Ravens have addressed right tackle at all even with Brown and Stanley projected as the bookends?
That part might not have changed. If Stanley went down, and Brown went back to the left side, they might have still been stuck with a Patrick Mekari/Tyre Phillips combo on the right side. I’m not convinced they would have drafted a tackle. After all, they didn’t draft a tackle with the extra draft capital they received from the Brown trade in the first place, so thinking they would have made that move with him is a bit of a leap.
On the flip side, Mekari has been terrific at right tackle. That part of history repeating itself wouldn’t have been a problem.
But with Brown staying in Baltimore, there would be no Alejandro Villanueva signing. Villanueva has struggled all season, even at left tackle, his natural position. While he’s not even passable on the left side, he was an absolute disaster on the right side.
The Brown trade request had so many residual effects to the team’s effort to reconstruct their offensive line.
It’s easy to say they should have never traded Brown. But in the end, does it make sense to hold a player hostage who genuinely wasn’t happy playing his position? Especially a player who has family ties to the organization? As Mike Tomlin famously said, “it’s better to have volunteers instead of hostages.”
But it’s also fair to say the Ravens could have also approached things a bit differently in how they attacked building the offensive line with the knowledge of Brown wanting out. They could have certainly prioritized offensive tackle earlier in the draft instead of only selecting G Ben Cleveland in the third round when all was said and done.
But what’s the guarantee that any of the tackles they targeted would have played markedly better than Villanueva or Mekari for that matter? Guys like Liam Eichenberg and Spencer Brown have had their ups and downs. Teven Jenkins, who was linked to the Ravens, didn’t make his first start until this past Monday with the Bears.
So getting back to the “what if…” story I’ve attempted to tell today…what if Orlando Brown Jr. didn’t request a trade?
The Ravens would have had a better offensive line in 2021 compared to 2020, with or without Stanley. I can promise you that.
History however had other plans. Now it’s on the coaches to keep this group on track to make a playoff push, while 2022 should bring better days and even the return of Stanley to the lineup.
And hey, Brown is a pending free agent in 2022, so you never know, right? I can see the next episode of “what…if” now: What if…Orlando Brown returned to play right tackle for the Ravens?
Another episode and article for another day.
