OTL: OTAs Provide First Look at King Henry in Purple!

This column may be “OTL”, but today, it’s all about OTAs.

It's all about OTAs!

The Lounge talks about the players they're excited to watch, the biggest storylines and more.

🎧: https://t.co/phHaPUz0dT pic.twitter.com/ShG6KDLkNi

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) May 20, 2024

Ravens OTA storylines: Keeping an eye on the rookies, starting O-line spots https://t.co/EOeBc4qghG

— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiec) May 20, 2024

The Ravens returned to The Castle yesterday for the first week of optional workouts, and luckily, they do so largely without the drama of years past. Around the league, there are plenty of teams worrying about contract negotiations, holdouts or looming cap casualties that could change the face of their franchise. Fortunately for Baltimore, the focus can be largely on position battles and getting guys right from injuries, none of which seem too major, and for that, I’m extremely grateful.

The team is restrictive in terms of what they’ll let the public see during the workouts, so don’t expect to get much outside of recaps from team media and local beat writers. In fact, yesterday’s workouts were limited to team media only, with tomorrow’s OTAs being the first ones available to outside media, so keep your eyes peeled. One thing that we did get to see, though, was a sight that Ravens fans have been awaiting for months.

Make way for His Royal Majesty, King Henry.

Day one of OTAs, let’s get it ‼️ pic.twitter.com/ZmhhZinQ0u

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) May 20, 2024

Making that purple and black look regal 🔥 @KingHenry_2 pic.twitter.com/ocnfCvAVEI

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) May 20, 2024

I’m going to state the obvious, but also express a sentiment that I saw echoed around Ravens social media yesterday: Derrick Henry is a very large human being. I haven’t met him in person yet, but during last year’s Training Camp, I stood right next to the side field where Roquan Smith was hitting the tackling sled. Roquan makes normal-sized people look tiny, and you could physically feel the air move around you when he hit the dummy. For any player to make Agent Zero look pedestrian in size is impressive, but for a running back to do it? I’m watching it on film and I’m still grappling with trying to make sense of it. I can’t wait to see what Henry looks like coming out of this Ravens backfield, but that sentiment won’t be shared by opposing defenses.

Patrick Ricard and Derrick Henry are running directly at you

What are you doing in this situation? pic.twitter.com/O3PmcAmwq0

— Kevin Oestreicher (@koestreicher34) May 20, 2024

Luckily for the guys in-house, they won’t have to worry about trying to drag Henry down during these drills, since they’re limited to non-contact activities. The focus of the next few days and weeks will be acclimating the younger players and newcomers to the system, which makes the 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills the thing to watch. I’ll be particularly focused on the O-line personnel sets to see where Roger Rosengarten and Andrew Vorhees make their appearances. There’s plenty of intrigue around how Daniel Faalele and Sala Aumavae-Laulu fit as well, given their familiarity with the system but still being raw in their development.

As opposed as I am to focusing on attendance for these workouts, I’m also going to be watching some of the guys featured in this video…

Beautiful day at the 🏰 for some work‼️@SeatGeek pic.twitter.com/2XeWm5TCgZ

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) May 20, 2024

…simply to see how much work they get in as they bounce back from injury. Of course, there’s a long way to go between now and the preseason, but using these workout days to develop chemistry and learn the system are critical for these young players. Beau Brade and Rasheen Ali, the first two guys out of the tunnel in that video, are both rookies recovering from injury, and their involvement in drills or lack thereof could be a big indicator on expectations and readiness for the season. Here’s hoping that they’re 100%, and hopefully no news of unexpected absences drops during the next few weeks. If it does, though, the RSR crew has you covered.