The Baltimore Ravens planned for the future when they used a seventh-round pick on Andrew Vorhees in 2023. A high prospect before tearing his ACL, they hope he can live up to his pedigree as he recovers. They’ll quite possibly need him to, given their losses in the trenches this offseason and minimal cap space.
Draft analysts viewed Vorhees as no worse than a Day-Two draft pick out of USC, and perhaps even a first-round candidate, before tearing his ACL at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine. Baltimore traded back into the seventh round in order to select him rather than compete for his rights afterward.
He regretted not making it to the undrafted class at first, but is now looking forward to his future in Baltimore. That includes competing for a guard job after losing Kevin Zeitler and Josh Simpson in free agency.
“I’m aware with the opportunity that lies ahead of me, but at the end of the day, I have to go and earn a job”, he told the team’s website. “Everyone has to earn a job in that room. Right now, the competition looks a little different because we’re not in-season, so I’m competing against myself every day. I really have been my entire life”.
“It’s just, try to be the best player, best athlete I could be to then give myself the best opportunity to turn that into a position to play in the fall”, he added, “because that’s the goal at the end of the day. I’m just looking forward to the opportunity to compete and getting back out there”.
6-6 and 310 pounds, Vorhees also said he is fully cleared more than a full year after his knee injury. Internally, their alternative options include Patrick Mekari and Josh Jones, as well as 2023 sixth-rounder Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu.
In a vacuum, Vorhees is clearly the most talented player of the group. If his knee is healthy and holds up, he stands the bet chance of carving out a long-term starting role. Mekari is s journeyman who has played up and down the line with 36 starts over five seasons as an injury replacement. Jones, a four-year veteran, has 15 career starts, just three last season for the Houston Texans.
The Ravens have a track record for developing offensive linemen, truth be told. Usually other teams love to pay them top dollar on the open market when the time comes. From Kelechi Osemele and Ryan Jensen to more recently Ben Powers and Bradley Bozeman, Ravens linemen are somehow catnip.
Not that the Pittsburgh Steelers are in much position to complain given their returns on some wide receivers. The Chicago Bears giving up a high second-round pick for Chase Claypool remains one of the most stunning coups recently.
