A Ravens O-Lineman Steps Up!

It’s no secret that the Ravens offensive line has struggled in 2025. Arguably the team’s Achilles heel, George Warhop’s crew has struggled to adequately protect the quarterback while Derrick Henry is regularly hit behind the line of scrimmage.

Instead of investing in an experienced guard or two (Kevin Zeitler comes to mind), the Ravens coaching staff opted to push their chips into the middle of the table and bet on Daniel Faalele and Andrew Vorhees. The results have been abysmal.

Perhaps the staff thought that the two would develop and together represented a worthy work-in-progress. But the clock is ticking and the WIP has proven to be costly. Consequently, games have been lost along with the team’s quarterback who has watched his team get skull-dragged from the sidelines for the past two weeks.

Faalele might be the hardest worker on the planet and a great guy to boot. But neither makes him an NFL-worthy starting guard. Vorhees has been the bigger headscratcher. He was never projected to be a Day 2 pick, although some would have you believe that, but he was expected to go as high as Round 5.

NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein described Voorhees as a serviceable NFL guard.

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“Guard prospect with five years of starting experience that shows itself with consistency and football IQ. Vorhees is a technically sound run blocker with a repeatable process. His range laterally and to the second level will be a little limited, but he’s an even-paced drive blocker, using excellent positioning, leveraged hands and churning legs.”

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But the learning curve has been lengthy. The consistency that was expected hasn’t yet arrived. And in the face of all the criticism of a team that nearly everyone thought would compete for a Super Bowl win, the failures have been exacerbated and the pressures swell.

That said, Vorhees took a big step on Sunday against the Rams in a losing effort. Knowing that the Ravens would run Derrick Henry often given the pass pro struggles of the offensive line and the absence of Lamar Jackson, the Ravens were still able to crank out 179 yards rushing, averaging 4.8 yards per attempt against the league’s 10th best rushing defense. Many of those yards took place behind the lead of the Ravens left side of the offensive line – behind Andrew Vorhees.

Maybe the Ravens discovered something by leaning on zone blocking concepts. Maybe Vorhees’ learning curve has developed. Maybe it’s both. But on one Sunday in October when the Ravens really needed a run game to compete with the LA Rams minus Lamar, the kid from USC embraced the challenge and came through. And this week he gets the Jimmy’s Famous Seafood Big Crab Cake as the Ravens’ unsung hero in Week 6.

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The October Edition of The Famous’ “Meet The Birds” Series will be hosted by one of the team’s most dangerous weapons – wide receiver Rashod Bateman! Fresh off his prolific 2024 season, which featured 11 touchdown catches, #7 comes to Jimmy’s Famous Seafood for a very special evening with The Ravens Flock! Details HERE >>> LINK

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Source: https://russellstreetreport.com/2025/10/14/the-big-crab-cake/vorhees-steps-up/