Ryan Kalil
Keep an eye on USC center Ryan Kalil. The Ravens like him, and he would be a nice second-round pick. For years, the Ravens have watched current center Mike Flynn struggle, but have not made any improvements, partially because he is a favorite of head coach Brian Billick. There have been concerns about Kalil's size, but he eased most of those in the Senior Bowl. Kalil has a good initial pop and never lets up. He uses leverage well and has decent footwork. He has good athleticism. Only drawback is that he'll struggle against bullrushers. - Mike Preston
Mike Preston has been with The Baltimore Sun since 1983. Prior to becoming a columnist in 2000, he covered the Ravens for four years. Preston is a native of Essex and a graduate of Towson State University, where he played football. 
Jamison Hensley covers the Ravens for The Baltimore Sun. 
Comments
LOL...Kalil will be gone by the early/middle of the second round.
Posted by: Tony | April 17, 2007 1:04 PM
Mike,
Sounds like you jsut described Mike Flynn...
Posted by: Tom | April 17, 2007 1:31 PM
Kalil would be an excellent force in the middle! He plays with a sense of urgency. With him, Brown and Chester in the middle of the line the Ravens would have a good combo of size, strength and quickness to open up alot of holes...they may even pull the Center at times?? Add Blalock and you bring attitude to the mix...Will Shields/Orlando Brown type attitude. You can't beat that.
Posted by: Bacon | April 17, 2007 1:32 PM
Keep up the posts Mike...We're still reading them!
Posted by: BMooore | April 17, 2007 2:13 PM
Mike,
Do you think the Ravens could go offensive line in the 1st and 2nd round? Almost all the Mock Drafts have the Ravens taking Justin Blalock or another o-lineman in the first round.
your thoughts????
js
Posted by: jls | April 17, 2007 2:58 PM
Mike,
If you get a chance, please follow-up on this posting. I had assumed that the Ravens would eventually move Jason Brown to Center -- the position that he excelled in at UNC. Is the team so happy with his performance at Guard --- or so discouraged by his prospects as an NFL Center --- that they would draft a "new" replacement for Flynn. Thanks.
Posted by: Shawn | April 17, 2007 3:51 PM
I think with a borderline first round pick like Kalil, they could probably trade back into the early second round and still get him...plus they could add a mid round pick in exchange for moving up... or just flip the pick for a 08 first rounder at a time we'll really need to stock up. Or... they... just kidding, no more conspiracy theories.
Posted by: matt schultz | April 17, 2007 4:47 PM
To follow up on what Shawn wrote -- i thought the Ravens would move Chester to Center and put Rimpf at Guard. That would leave addressing the OTackle position -- most likely with Texas' Blalock (as Central Michigan's Staley will be gone). Hey! what about trading out of the 1st round and taking a Quarterback (either's Stanford's Edwards or Michigan State's Stanton) with the top pick? The Ravens would then re-coup the choice given up for McGahee.
Posted by: Patrick | April 17, 2007 9:10 PM
I agree with Tony. Unless we trade up in the second round, I can't imagine Kalil will be a Raven next year.
Posted by: Tyler | April 17, 2007 11:21 PM
Khalil may turn out to be an excellent NFL center. My opinion is the Ravens are set there. Chris Chester is best suited for center. He has the athleticism to play that spot and he should eventually supplant Flynn there. However, Chester does not have the size to be a powerful run-blocking guard the teams needs so much.
Fact: Ravens failed to score an offensive touchdown in the last 8 quarters of their 2006 season. Best player available on draft day, sure... But with McGahee in the mix now the run blocking must improve. There is a reason so many mock drafts are linking Blalock, Grubbs, and Sears to the Purple and Black... Any of these players would be a welcome addition.
Posted by: Tim | April 18, 2007 12:23 AM
's right. Didnt we draft Brown as a Flynn replacement? Brown did set the UNC record at 700 lbs if memory serves me right.
All this time its been written Flynn cant handle this and that, but Kalil? Exactly : the same stuff wrtten about Kalil in any profile, 'Cant handle bullrush', etc.
Kalil will be gone in the 2nd round, but I guess we still gotta do our homework on him.
And why did a new post take 14 days, Mike ?
Posted by: T-Sir98, a svelte bird | April 18, 2007 9:31 AM
I don't know if/how you'll respond to this, but I'd like to ask you a question, Mike, about your statement that the Ravens have not made any improvement at the center position in part because Flynn is one of Brian Billick's favorites. The whole notion that Brian Billick has his "favorites" would appear to be "common knowledge", because it's certainly something that many fans bandy about as if it's a given. Since I have no first hand knowledge one way or the other, IS this a verifiable fact, or just something that gets thrown around as if it were true? I hope you can find a way -- maybe with another blog entry -- to address this issue. It would really help to clarify a lot of discussions involving Brian Billick that take place on the Ravens board here and on other Ravens boards as well. Thanks.
Posted by: skaybaltimore | April 19, 2007 10:35 PM
The Jets took an OT and a C in the first 2 rounds last year and made the playoffs without a great offense. We have explosive playmakers on O and Ray aint crying for a buffer so let's go for OL help. Yes CB is a worry too, but everybody's got a weakness somewhere, 'cept maybe NE now they got Superman AD
Posted by: James | April 20, 2007 12:04 AM