Baltimore Ravens' Yanda finding home on offensive line

“They tell you in this league,” he said. “The more positions you can play the better you are.”

The 6-foot-3, 310-pounder is trying to carve a niche by proving he can play two positions. As a second-round draft pick out of Iowa last season, Yanda started 12 games at right tackle, but he’s proving he has the muscle to play inside, prompting the team to move him to right guard.

Right now, it’s unclear where Yanda will line up when the Ravens open the preseason at new England on Thursday. Projected starting right tackle Adam Terry and left tackle Jared Gaither are out with lower-leg injuries and rookie Oniel Cousins is out with an injured knee.

During Friday’s morning practice at McDaniel College the first-team offensive line consisted of recently signed free agent Chad Slaughter at left tackle, Ben Grubbs at left guard and Jason Brown at center. The right side had Yanda at guard and unproven Mike Kracalik, who was on the team’s practice squad last season, at tackle.

“[Yanda’s] a big plus for us,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “We seem to be a little snakebit right now at offensive tackle with a few tweaky things. The good news is it isn’t the big stuff, and we have to continue to try to make sure it doesn’t happen in practice.”

Last season, the line paved the way for a rushing attack that averaged 112.3 yards per game. But the unit yielded 39 sacks and totaled just 11 rushing touchdowns, 18th best in the league. The offense averaged just over 17 points and 300 yards per game, as Raven quarterbacks completed a franchise-record 341 passes for 3,308 yards.

Yanda said it’s imperative the line finds cohesion during training camp, as the unit must compensate for the retirement of center Mike Flynn and future Hall of Famer Jonathan Ogden.

“This fall when we have to depend on each to go out and win a game,” Yanda said. “You want those guys who you have worked hard with in the offseason and can trust them.”

dcarey@baltimoreexaminer.com