When the news broke that franchise left tackle Eugene Monroe would miss a few games with a knee injury, uncertainty swirled regarding the position.

The only options the Ravens had on the roster were veteran Jah Reid and undrafted rookie James Hurst.

Reid – who has struggled his entire career – didn’t jump out as an intriguing option, while Hurst – a player who struggled regularly during the preseason – didn’t necessarily scream “start this guy” either.

But the Ravens went with the young, unproven talent in Hurst, who will be the team’s starting left tackle until Monroe’s return.

Without knowing what to expect from the rookie in his first NFL regular season action on Sunday against the Carolina Panthers, the general consensus seems to be that Hurst had about as good of a debut an undrafted player could, especially given the short notice that he would be starting.

Leading the Ravens in offensive snaps during the preseason with 180 at left tackle, Hurst looked about the same as he did in college: a good lineman who struggled with strength.

Hurst’s strength was not up to par in preseason action – as was the case (particularly in pass protection) at times at North Carolina – but on Sunday, he appeared to be more settled and technically sound than in the preseason, leading to less deficiencies in the strength department.

His strong debut doesn’t mean he’ll be a starter anytime soon after Monroe returns, but the performance was reassuring to know that a) the Ravens have a decent backup left tackle and b) the offensive line won’t suffer too much during Monroe’s absence.

How did Hurst show promise against the Panthers?

Let’s take a look.

As a run blocker during the preseason, Hurst’s lack of strength combined with marginal movement and awareness led to regular struggles.

But on Sunday, he appeared to be aware of his duties, moved well and displayed adequate strength.

Early in the game on a Justin Forsett run, Hurst showed the valuable ability to get to the second level and engage with a linebacker.

On a run originally to the right, Hurst works his way upfield to find a Panthers defender.

By the time Forsett receives the handoff, Hurst has already successfully found a linebacker and latched on.



Hurst doesn’t quite finish out the play, however, as Forsett redirects his run to the left side, at which point Hurst lets go of his man.

The fact that he displayed the ability to not only get to the second level in time, but also have the awareness to find a defender and lock on is a promising sign for a player in his NFL debut.

As noted, the main concern with Hurst both in college and during the preseason was his strength.

While he didn’t necessarily face stiff competition from Carolina’s right defensive ends on Sunday, he did display at least adequate strength.

On another Forsett run play, Hurst is left out on an island with the defensive end on the outside.

He lets the defender come to him, and Hurst leans out just enough to make the initial contact without sending too much of his weight forward.

Poor weight distribution can lead to many strength issues, but in this case, Hurst positions himself well enough to absorb the first hit from the defender.

Hurst turns that initial contact into better positioning, as with the run play developing, he gets enough of a push to turn the defender away from the run.

As a run blocker, Hurst didn’t receive much help from his fellow offensive linemen – particularly left guard Kelechi Osemele – but for the most part, he didn’t need it.

During the game, Hurst was hardly ever noticeable in pass protection, which is typically a good thing.

This is partially due to the fact that he often received help from Osemele, who did a good job in aiding the rookie.

For example, on this pass play, Hurst appears to be beaten by an inside move from the defensive end early in the play.

The rest of the offensive line is doing well, but if Hurst were to let his man slip through the inside, it would ruin a perfectly good pocket for quarterback Joe Flacco.

Luckily Osemele is confident enough in center Jeremy Zuttah occupying his man, so he shifts over to help out Hurst.

Osemele gets in position in time to seal the inside move and keep the pocket clean for Flacco.

There were still plenty of occasions in which Hurst was left alone to fend for himself.

Even if he lost the initial engagement, Hurst often displayed ample recovery ability to avoid letting up a quarterback hurry or sack.

Here, Hurst struggles with the speed of the defensive end off the snap, and early in the play, it appears that the Carolina defender will be able to beat Hurst around the edge.

Hurst is positioned poorly here: behind the defender, bending over and reaching out. All three are a recipe for disaster for Flacco, who has a clean pocket otherwise.

Things turn out fine for Flacco, though, as Hurst shows no quit on the play, recovering his feet and weight and regaining some position on the defender.

He’s still trying to recover on the play, but the punch delivered to the defender combined with his process of regaining position to defend the outside slows the rusher down enough to give Flacco time to throw without pressure.

By the time Flacco gets rid of the ball, Hurst recovers all the way back to get in front of the defender and keep his quarterback upright.

For an inexperienced NFL player to show the hustle and ability to recover after losing early in the play is certainly a positive trait.

As Hurst faces more diverse and talented pass rushers, perhaps things won’t be as easy for him in pass protection.

But against the Panthers, Hurst’s combination of consistency against the pass rush and adequate strength and awareness against the run was more than the Ravens could’ve realistically hoped for during his debut.

He kept Flacco clean and helped contribute to a Ravens rush attack that averaged 4.2 yards per carry and scored two touchdowns.

When Monroe is healthy, Hurst will go back to being the primary backup tackle. But until then, it will be intriguing to follow the rookie’s progress during his time as Baltimore’s starting left tackle.