OWINGS MILLS — The Ravens found a potential starting right tackle with the selection of Washington’s Roger Rosengarten with the 61st overall pick of the 2024 NFL draft on Friday night.
At 6 feet 5, 308 pounds, Rosengarten has the size to make an immediate impact in the NFL. He was a two-year starter at right tackle for the Huskies, protecting quarterback Michael Penix Jr., who was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons with the eighth overall pick. He did not allow a sack in his college career, according to Pro Football Focus.
“He was one of our top players in the entire round,” general manager Eric DeCosta said. “Fortunate that we got him when we did.”
Rosengarten is solid in both pass protection and the run and can also play left tackle. He called blocking for quarterback Lamar Jackson a “dream come true,” and he is looking forward to working with newly signed running back Derrick Henry.
“As soon as I heard [it was] Baltimore, that’s the first thing that came to my mind – blocking for Lamar,” Rosengarten said. “[He’s] an elite-level quarterback, an MVP-level quarterback. It’s a dream come true. Baltimore is one of those places where it’s been a historic program for such a long time, and just to hear my name called and have everybody on the staff come [on the phone] and congratulate me, it was such a great feeling.”
The Ravens, including coach John Harbaugh, showed almost immediate interest in Rosengarten and stopped the 15-minute interview with him during the NFL combine at 10 minutes.
“Coach Harbaugh and the offensive line coach [Joe D’Alessandris] and the rest of the staff really said, ‘Hey man, you check all the boxes. There’s no need to spend all 17 minutes on this,’” Rosengarten said. “I knew from there my meeting went super well with them at the combine, and then, I didn’t end up doing a [Top] 30 visit, but that’s kind of all the extent was.”
Some scouts say Rosengarten might need to add strength once he joins the Ravens.
“A twitchy, aggressive, and crafty player who needs to improve his functional strength, but he has enough tools to work his way into a swing tackle role with starting potential down the road,” said Brandon Thorn, an offensive/defensive line analyst who runs the Trench Warfare Newsletter focused exclusively on scouting and analysis.
The Ravens need a starting right tackle after trading Morgan Moses and a fourth-round pick in exchange for fourth- and sixth-round selections. Daniel Faalele, Patrick Mekari, and Rosengarten will compete for Moses’ spot at right tackle. The Ravens also need to replace last season’s starting guards, Kevin Zeitler and John Simpson, who left this offseason via free agency.
“There’s going to be competition,” coach Harbaugh said about the vacancies on the offensive line. “Whoever plays the best – we always say, ‘Who’s the best player’ – it’s the player who plays the best. You could have been the best player five years ago, but you’re not the best player now.
“So, every day, you go out to practice every game you play, there’s an accumulated established aspect of it.”