Why Washington Football Team should consider trading for Orlando Brown

The Baltimore Ravens have one of the strongest tackle groups in the NFL. Ronnie Stanley is a terrific blindside blocker while Orlando Brown has proven to be one of the league’s best and most powerful right tackles.

However, the Ravens had to switch things up midway through the 2020 season after Stanley suffered a season-ending injury. Brown flipped over to the left side of the line and helped provide excellent protection on that side for Lamar Jackson. Now, it looks like Brown wants to stay at left tackle at all costs.

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Brown wants to be traded away from the Ravens. The reason is simple. He wants to play left tackle moving forward and with Stanley slated to return, that won’t happen.

It’s unclear what exactly a “major haul” would be for Brown. The talented tackle won’t turn 25 until May, but he’s also in the final year of his contract after being a third-round pick by the Ravens in 2018. As such, any team that trades for Brown would need to extend him, so that could drive down the draft pick value the Ravens could get for him.

But at the same time, Brown’s an extraordinarily talented and uniquely huge tackle (6-foot-8, 345 pounds), and those don’t grow on trees. So the Ravens aren’t going to give him away.

Why the Washington Football Team should consider Orlando Brown

With all that said, the Washington Football Team should absolutely inquire about Brown’s availability and see what Baltimore’s asking price for him is. If the team believes it to be reasonable, trading for Brown could provide their line with the youth and upside they need on the left side of the line.

Washington’s blocking was better than expected last season, and that was largely due to better-than-expected play from free-agent signings Cornelius Lucas and Wes Schweitzer. The duo could certainly reprise their roles as starters once again, but Lucas is a 30-year-old entering the final year of his contract, and the team doesn’t have much depth.

Acquiring Brown and letting him play left tackle would push Lucas into the swing spot and shore up the team’s tackle depth. That may be enough to push them back toward the upper-echelon of offensive lines at the NFL level rather quickly.

Of course, Washington may not want to pay the price needed to land Brown. They have to focus on re-signing All-Pro right guard Brandon Scherff this offseason and the 2021 NFL Draft class is deep at the tackle position. They may even be positioned to land a guy like Christian Darrisaw in the first round of the draft if they like him enough, so maybe they’d prefer to do that and get a guy like him on a rookie contract.

Still, kicking the tires on Brown is a good idea. If the Ravens’ asking price isn’t too ridiculous, he could be a worthwhile traded candidate, and acquiring him would fill a need for Washington. Then, they could focus on adding talent at receiver, tight end, linebacker, safety, cornerback, and, of course, the all-important quarterback spot with the rest of their resources.

We’ll soon see if Baltimore shows any willingness to budge on a Brown deal, but if he’s on the market, Washington should have an interest in him. Blocking is at a premium in the NFL, and linemen have such a big impact on the game. We saw it in the Super Bowl. If your line can’t block and doesn’t have depth, even the best don’t have a chance to make plays.

Even if Brown isn’t a realistic target, expect Washington to show plenty of interest in the available tackle prospects this year for that very reason.