Daniel Faalele being tested at guard; Ravens want to ‘let it play out’

At 6-foot-8 and 380 pounds, offensive lineman Daniel Faalele is among the NFL’s biggest individuals in NFL history. His massive frame, coupled with raw strength and developing technique made him one of the best tackles in college football his senior season. As a result, he became a Baltimore Raven, being drafted in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL Draft.

Upon joining the Ravens, Faalele was visibly struggling to finish workouts; the heat and humidity caught him off-guard.

“The biggest thing that has surprised me is how humid it is here,” Faalele said in August 2022. “I just did not expect Baltimore to be this humid.”

Faalele took action to get his body and mind right his rookie year. After the Ravens’ offseason program, he remained in Owings Mills to work with the Ravens’ Strength & Conditioning staff, earning admiration from Ravens Head Coach John Harbaugh.

“I really think he took a step by staying here after our offseason program and working with our strength and conditioning staff and whatnot here,” Harbaugh said. “[He] really showed some maturity there. I really think that allowed him to come into training camp in much better shape, and ready to compete.”

Intermittently, Faalele saw snaps over his first two seasons. Sometimes as an extra blocker or replacing an injured teammate, along with participating in special teams. In the late stretches of 2023, Faalele was rotating in and out with starting right tackle Morgan Moses. So when the Ravens’ traded Moses to the New York Jets, all expectations were for Faalele to contend for the starting role. But the Ravens saw otherwise.

In the 2024 offseason, they had Faalele begin working at right guard, beginning in minicamp. It’s been a transition for the third-year offensive lineman.

“It’s definitely been a learning experience. Things happen a lot quicker inside and [I’m] adjusting to that. And, obviously, there’s bigger bodies inside as well,” Faalele said. “I feel like it’s been a good transition, though. [I’m] just trying to get better each day.”

Through the first week of training camp, Faalele has remained at right guard. According to offensive line coach Joe D’Alessandris, they want to see if Faalele can be their answer to their also open starting right guard role.

“He’s learning a new position,” Offensive line coach Joe D’Alessandris said. “…I’m going to try to let [right guard] play out [for] a little bit — it just takes time. When you move guys to different positions … And I’m an advocate of cross training and playing multiple positions, because I know what’s in store for us when the season starts. But this time of the year, I like to see if we can settle in and see if everyone can get their fundamentals and technique down and their assignments, and then we’ll go from there.”

Putting the mammoth blocker at the interior is a unique circumstance, as bigger blockers are traditionally on the bookends of the line. It’s been a growing period for Faalele.

“It’s definitely been an adjustment to being in a three-point stance like 90-percent of the time,” Faalele said. “But, I just feel like the more reps I get, the more I’m able to hone in my skills and technique. I’m just getting used to pass-setting inside. It is a lot shorter and more compact. I need to cut down my length of my sets and stuff. But, I feel like each day I get better and better at it, so I’m just going to keep working.”

There are advantages to being one of the biggest players on the field at any given point; his strength and size outclass nearly all others on the field.

“I have long arms so that’s an advantage and being bigger, it takes away a lot of the pass rush lanes so I can cover up a lot more space inside,” Faalele said.

As for the disadvantages, there are some, but Faalele is working to turn them into strengths.

“[Disadvantages are] definitely is a thing, I’d say,” Faalele said. “But just working on my low pad level and my ability to punch has been pretty good. So, using that to my advantage and just trying to stay low against smaller people.”

Footwork and hand placement are going to be critical for Faalele. D’Alessandris shared his assessment of Faalele’s technique and sees the foundation is in place for Faalele.

“You know what, his footwork is not bad,” D’Alessandris said. “Playing inside, everything happens faster – the movement happens faster, [the] decisions [happen] faster, communication happens faster. He’s growing in that area, and we have to just continue to [teach him to] use his hands better to relocate – either to place your hands on him – relocate the hands, etc. But [it’s only the] first day [in pads] – we’ll see what he does in about a week, you know, see if it gets better.”

While right tackle was initially the masses’ assumed spot for Faalele to compete, he’s focused on winning the right guard role.

“I feel like I do see myself as a starter competing for that spot,” Faalele said. “Just coming in each day and knowing that that’s at the forefront of my mind and just working towards that goal and ultimately just trying to do my job for the team so we can keep winning games and get where we want to be.”