Zion Young gets first chance to earn a prominent role in Ravens' rotation

Zion Young doesn’t need the preseason to secure a place on the Baltimore Ravens’ roster. The second-round pick does need it to establish how large his role can become during his rookie season. Young will receive his first NFL game test when the Ravens host the Philadelphia Eagles on Saturday night at M&T Bank Stadium. Baltimore plans to sit its established starters, creating additional snaps for younger players competing for positions in the rotation.

The Ravens selected Young with the 45th overall pick after considering a trade up to acquire him. That investment reflects how highly the organization values his combination of size, power and physicality.

Saturday will begin revealing how quickly those traits can translate into production.

Young produced 6.5 sacks, 16.5 tackles for loss and 17 quarterback hurries during his final season at Missouri. His pass-rush plan is built around power, long arms and a relentless motor rather than relying exclusively on speed around the corner. The Ravens have already experimented with moving Young inside during passing situations. His ability to overpower guards and collapse the pocket could create opportunities for Baltimore’s quicker edge defenders.

Young has flashed that potential throughout the offseason. During organized team activities, he used an interior power rush to create pressure, defeated a blocker to disrupt a screen and tipped a pass at the line of scrimmage.

Defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver described Young as “as good as advertised” after watching his physicality appear before the Ravens put on pads.

The Eagles should provide a useful test. Rookie right tackle Markel Bell, Cameron Williams, John Ojukwu and Philadelphia’s other reserve linemen will be playing extended snaps and undergoing evaluations of their own.

Young doesn’t need multiple sacks to produce an encouraging debut. Consistently compressing the pocket, forcing quarterbacks off their spot and creating opportunities for teammates would demonstrate that he can contribute to Baltimore’s pass-rush rotation immediately.

This article originally appeared on Ravens Wire: Zion Young gets first chance to earn a prominent role in Ravens’ rotation