Ravens D.J. Fluker brings experience and incredible bulk to right guard competition
The competition to replace future Hall of Fame offensive guard Marshal Yanda who retired this offseason after 13 years of being one of the pillars of the franchise will be arguably the Baltimore Ravens’ fiercest position battle in training camp.
General Manager did a great job of assembling a solid group of candidates comprised of three players that are on rookie contracts and a veteran on a low-risk high reward one-year deal. The vet is former first-round pick DJ Fluker who brings two of the most appealing attributes that team’s look for in a potential starter, actual starting experience at the NFL level, and great size.
“I watched Yanda for a long time. He’s a great guard,” Fluker said on “The Lounge” podcast via the official team website. “Those are big shoes to fill. Yanda did his thing. That’s what he was known for, being physical and tough. But what I can do is be myself, be who I am. Be the person that comes out every single day, works hard, be physical, and impose my will on people. That’s me. That’s D.J. – always passionate about football. That’s what I can give you.”
He spent the last two seasons with the Seattle Seahawks and just barely 24 hours following his release on April 27th, the Ravens pounced at the opportunity to bring in the prized veteran free agent on a one year deal on April 28th and the signing was made official on May 11th. The Seahawks drafted LSU guard Damien Lewis in the third round of this year’s draft days before Fluker was released in a move that freed up $3.7 million in cap space and the expectation for the rookie is that he will slide into his spot in the starting lineup.
“Maybe they wanted (someone) younger,” said Fluker, who has been training in Seattle during the offseason. “Maybe they want a different type of player. I can’t speak for that. But I can come in here, show what I am as a person and a football player. I’m going to be myself. I promise, you’re going to love watching me.
Experience can only be gained with time put in the league and interior linemen play one of the roughest and toughest positions in the sport. They define trench ware fare and rarely ever have a play where their jersey doesn’t get dirtied. Fluker has started 88 games for three different teams during his first seven years in the league since getting drafted 11th overall by the then San Diego Chargers out of the University of Alabama.
He is listed at 6-foot-5 and 342 pounds, he’s two inches taller and 37 pounds heavier than Yanda was listed at last season—he’s probably 137 pounds heavier than what the eight-time Pro Bowler weighs now if you’ve seen any of his post-retirement photos. With great size, comes great power and strength and Fluker has both in spades to go along with his enormous frame and build. He’s a mauler in the ground game who moves incredibly well for someone his size and is a self-proclaimed “people mover”.
“Yanda was a great player. He does things that most guys can’t do,” Fluker said. “But my thing is taking guys off the ball. Moving guys to where they need to be. I move people. That’s what I’m good at.”
In addition to his incredible hulkish size and strength, Fluker brings championship mentality to the table as well. While he has yet to make it past the second round of the playoffs in his professional career, as a member of the Crimson Tide from 2009-2012, he was a part of three national title-winning teams during the birth of the Nick Saban dynasty. He is as motivated as ever to be apart of a championship-winning team at this level and joining the Ravens who went 14-2 last season and are poised to be a top contender again in this year is as great of a landing spot as he could ask for.
“A Super Bowl ring would mean the world to me,” Fluker said. “We’ve got something to work towards. We’ve got to figure out how we’re going to do it. It’s all about winning and being a team and having that bond. I’m excited to be a part of that.”
Almost every offensive lineman will admit that they enjoy and prefer run blocking to pass protecting. With the former, they are the ones on the attack and paving the way for their ball carriers whereas, with the later, they are always retreating into their pass sets while quick-twitch world-class athletes with herculean strength that come in a variety of shapes and sizes charge at them full steam ahead with momentum.
Fluker is no expectation and relishes in the opportunity to impose his will on another superior athlete to clear rushing lanes for his running backs and in the case of the Ravens, his quarterback. Playing for a team that produced the most prolific rushing attack in league history, broke single-season records in 2019, and is still dedicated to a run-first philosophy makes a road grader like Fluker an ideal fit in the Ravens’ downhill power running scheme.
Speaking of his new quarterback, the reigning league MVP Lamar Jackson has been a magnet for veteran players this offseason who desire to be apart of the special journey that the Ravens intend to embark on this season. Every newly acquired Raven this offseason has expressed how much they have marveled at Jackson’s electric playmaking ability from afar dating back to his Heisman trophy-winning days at Louisville and how they can’t wait to play and practice with him because they know that iron sharpens iron and that it’s better to be on the side that is wielding the dual-edged—or should I say dual-threat—sword that is the Ravens’ franchise quarterback on the receiving end.
“He’s like the modern-day Michael Vick,” Fluker said. “I’ve never seen a kid so fast. That kid’s got some crazy, crazy talent. It’s going to be an awesome experience to play with him. He’s a smart player, he’s a great player, his teammates all love him.
Competing with Fluker for the starting right guard position in training camp that is tentatively set to open in mid-July according to reports is rising sophomore Ben Powers who the Ravens selected in the fourth round of last year’s draft out of Oklahoma and started in the last game of the season when the team rested several starters and a pair of rookies from this year’s class that includes third-round pick Tyree Phillips (Mississippi State) and fourth-round pick Ben Bredeson (Michigan).
Powers had the inside track before Fluker arrived and is the most familiar with the offense since he has a year in the system under his belt but after spending nearly a decade in the league and playing in several different blocking schemes for multiple teams, the veteran is more adept to picking up new playbooks and learning them in a short period of time.
Phillips played outside at offensive tackle in college, but projects move inside to guard at the next level. He has the size and physicality to become the next Kelechi Osemele who the Ravens drafted in 2012 out of Southern Missouri, played left tackle and college, and became a Pro Bowl guard in the NFL. Bredeson is a quality depth option with the upside to become a starter in this league, is built like Yanda but slightly taller and heavier, and given the right coaching could become a technically sound high-level starter.
Having played on three different teams in the last four years, Fluker knows that the NFL can be shrewd business and that teams could choose to go in a different direction at any position at any time for a myriad of reasons. This harsh reality has instilled in him the mindset that nothing is promised, everything is earned and even if you do your job to the best of your abilities at a proficient level, there’s no such thing as job security. Therefore he must treat every opportunity as if he were already unemployed because that could be the case.
“My job right now is playing like I don’t have a job,” Fluker said. “That’s my mindset every single season. Come in there, work my [butt] off. That’s what I do. I’m going to be in the lineup somewhere, hopefully.”
If he were to win the starting guard position next to right tackle Orlando Brown Jr that would give the Ravens nearly 700 pounds of mass on the right side of their offensive line that could flatten defenders at the first and second levels of the defense while opening up semi-truck sized rushing lanes on the ground and keep Jackson upright when he drops back to pass.
