FAVORITE TEAMS

What’s up everyone? Hope you are all having a great week and the weather is not too wet for you all wherever you are living.

Something came to my mind after chatting with a fine, fellow Steeler fan at work about Baltimore and the AFC North. I mentioned to him that Baltimore’s AFC North title chances hinged on Lamar Jackson’s health this season. Not only that, but I also checked the twitter feeds about the 2023’s top offensive linemen, and it hit me. Orlando Brown’s trade from Baltimore impacted Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens a lot. I wanted to briefly discuss Orlando Brown Jr. and Lamar Jackson’s impact with Baltimore, Orlando Brown’s trade that impacted Lamar and Baltimore’s next two seasons without him, and the importance of Orlando Brown’s presence on the field.

Both Brown and Lamar were drafted in 2018 and played together for three seasons. They were best friends on and off the field. Despite being elsewhere in the NFL, Brown still praises about Lamar. Lamar Jackson was happy to be teamed up with one of the best offensive lines in the league. When Ronnie Stanley was out, Brown stepped in and played well to keep Jackson upright and give him space to run through. They both had an interesting journey in college before crossing paths in the NFL.

Lamar Jackson was a generational talent coming out of Boynton Beach High School in Florida. His college highlights, including this sweet hurdle over a defender to score a touchdown gained a lot of attention from the NFL world.

After Lamar’s junior year, he was drafted in the last pick of the first round and eventually replaced Joe Flacco after the bye week.

The 6’8 340lb moving wall, Orlando Brown Jr., came out of Peachtree Ridge High School in Georgia. He first committed to Tennessee before decommitting a month later and instead committing to Oklahoma on that same day. He teamed up with quarterback Baker Mayfield, running back duos Joe Mixon and Samaje Perine, center Creed Humphrey, and pass-catchers Marquise “Hollywood” Brown, Mark Andrews, and CeeDee Lamb.

After Brown’s junior year, he was drafted 83rd overall in the 3rd round. He started at right tackle for three seasons with Baltimore (which his dad played at that exact position back in his days).

Orlando Brown Jr.’s presence on the field led the Baltimore Ravens to three straight playoff appearances (and a victory over the Titans in 2020) after a 3-season playoff drought prior. At that time, Brown Jr. played right tackle while Ronnie Stanley held down the fort at left tackle.

However, things took a turn for Lamar, Brown, and the Ravens after three seasons together (2018-2020). After the 2020-2021 season, Brown played well enough at right tackle and wanted to switch to the left side. Unfortunately, the organization signed current left tackle, Ronnie Stanley, to a long-term deal. That led Brown to requesting a trade and was eventually traded to the Kansas City Chiefs before winning a Super Bowl with them this past season. The reason for his trade request stems back from his dad and what he wanted for Brown before he played football.

Brown molded himself at left tackle before becoming the great wall that he was with Oklahoma while Ronnie Stanley failed to stay healthy after his contract extension. Stanley suffered injuries consistently since 2018, but nothing more than his ankle after Orlando Brown left for Kansas City. That was detrimental to the offensive line. It eventually led to Lamar Jackson being hurt and out for the rest of the season after Week 14 in 2021 and Week 13 in 2022. It’s not clear if Stanley was the reason Lamar failed to stay healthy in the last two months of 2021 and 2022, but it was still detrimental to Lamar’s health and the Ravens’ playoff hopes.

The aftermath led to Baltimore missing the playoffs in 2021. Then, they sputtered to the playoffs without Lamar and lost to Cincinnati last season. Before Brown was traded, Lamar averaged 22 sacks taken in three seasons. After Brown was traded, Lamar suffered 38 sacks in 2021 and 26 sacks in 2022. Interestingly enough, he didn’t finish either one of those seasons and he could’ve been right up there with Joe Burrow too with three to four weeks left. It tells you how important Orlando Brown was to Baltimore’s offense.

Quarterbacks are the pinnacle of the league before every other position without question. But it’s also important to know that one position doesn’t make a team. Quarterbacks are human and need help from 10 other offensive positions to help the team succeed as a whole.

Hopefully by now, most realize that the offensive line is very important because they not only move the trenches and open lanes for runners, but they most-importantly protect the quarterback. Orlando Brown Jr. proved to be one of the best offensive linemen in the NFL (despite PFF not including Brown in the Top 10). Brown also proved that he could play anywhere and protect any quarterback he wanted to. He’s already done it with Super Bowl champ Joe Flacco and All-Pro quarterback Lamar Jackson at right tackle, and two-time Super Bowl champ Patrick Mahomes at left tackle. Now, he’s at Cincinnati preparing to block for All-Pro quarterback Joe Burrow.

Joe Burrow took the most sacks since stepping foot in the NFL. Burrow suffered 124 sacks in the regular season and could’ve taken much more if he wasn’t injured his rookie season. Add 29 postseason sacks in total, and he has taken 153 sacks in his 3-season career. 3 SEASONS!!!!! He was nearly up there with David Carr during his first three regular seasons (140 sacks taken). Joe Burrow welcomes Orlando Brown with open arms, and this could be the guy that takes Burrow and Cincinnati over the edge in the near future.

This offseason benefitted both Lamar Jackson and Orlando Brown. Baltimore added weapons like Odell Beckham and Zay Flowers to contribute with Rashod Bateman and Mark Andrews in the passing game. However, the offensive line’s pass protection and awareness of Lamar’s movements is crucial to Baltimore’s 2023 season. There’s no excuse, and another playoff appearance is top priority. As for Orlando Brown Jr., he could be the piece to chop Joe Burrow’s average sack total in half or at least under 30 allowed this season. Hopefully the rest of the Bengals O-line stays healthy, but Burrow knows that Brown Jr. will be present for 17 plus games. If they clinch the playoffs for the third straight season, it’ll be very interesting. Let’s see how things go for Lamar and Brown and hope they both have a great 2023 season and more!