Ravens OT Ronnie Stanley is No.74 on the NFL Network’s Top 100 Players of 2020 list
The 2016 first-round pick out of Notre Dame was the fourth and final Raven revealed on the premiere night of the NFL’s Top 100 Players of 2020 list. Like Raven’s cornerback Marlon Humphrey who was the first to be revealed at No.86, this is Stanley’s first appearance on the list. Also, like Humphrey, he is coming off a breakout season in 2019 where he too earned Pro Bowl and First-Team All-Pro honors as well as established himself as one of the best players at his position in the entire league.
“He’s a special player,” said Ravens running back Mark Ingram. “He’s super athletic, can run fast, can do all the run blocks…Anything on the left side, you’re confident that it’s taken care of.”
Stanley went up against several of the league’s most elite pass rushers last season but still managed to keep reigning MVP, Lamar Jackson, upright throughout the year. He faced the likes of Nick Bosa of the San Francisco 49ers—reigning Defensive Rookie of the Year—Chandler Jones of the Arizona Cardinals—two-time All-Pro—Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns and the great Aaron Donald of the Los Angeles Rams who was the top-ranked player on the list last year yet he did not give up a single sack and surrendered just six pressures all season long.
His blend of natural athletic ability paired with his near-flawless technique has made him the premier pass blocker in the league and he’s just as tenacious and technically sound as a run blocker as well.
“When the bigger tackles like Stanley can do similar things as corners and DBs (defensive backs) do, that’s when you know the guy is just physically different,” said Buffalo Bills offensive tackle Dion Dawkins. “Ronnie does a good job of trusting his technique and just being an athlete. He’s just a different breed of tackle.”
In addition to being a world-class athlete and all-around physical specimen, Stanley makes the difficult look routine by knowing how to use his length to his advantage better than most and the mastery of his fundamentals all the way down to the elementary basics of footwork and hand placement are what make him truly elite and set him apart from the rest of the pack.
“He uses his length really well, said Green Bay Packers offensive tackle David Bakhtiari. “He definitely puts stress on the defensive end, puts them in compromising positions then he’s able to just make it look easy.”
“The biggest thing that he does really well that separates himself is just his consistent fundamentals,” said Stanley’s teammate and bookend on the right-side Orlando Brown Jr. “Whether that be pass work footwork, run game footwork, run game hands.”
Stanley has blossomed into the franchise left tackle that the Ravens envisioned when they drafted him and then some. The fact that he’s still ascending should keep defensive linemen, edge rushers, and opposing coordinators up at night as he continues to grow and perfect his craft as his career goes along. With the retirement of his friend and mentor Marshal Yanda this offseason, the Ravens not only have a position to fill at right guard but leadership void was created as well and it will likely fall on Stanley’s broad shoulders to lead the effort to fill it since he is the group’s best and most tenured player with the team.
