Ravens Young OL Showing Signs of Growth

"He does a great job in practice, and I'll just tell you one thing about Corey; Corey's an unbelievable kid in the meeting room," Warhop said. "[He's] outstanding. When young guys come in or new guys come in, or if he's dealing with the guys that are really young, he pours into them all the time. That's a quality that I can't even tell you how much I appreciate to have guys in the room, guys that he's competing with – that he'll eventually be competing with – he's helping them grow. So, he's an unbelievable human being on top of being a really good player and has a bright future."

When he first joined the staff last year after former Ravens offensive line coach Joe D'Alessandris tragically passed away during training camp, Warhop had no idea who Bullock even was, but he was impressed by the converted college tackle's willingness and work ethic when it came to learning a new position.

"He really got himself prepared to play in the off season," Warhop said. "I told him, 'You need to prepare to play center.' He did that, came and competed at center. Really, from the beginning of [training] camp until we got out of camp, he was the No. 2 center. It wasn't close when you started watching it, so he's continued that."

One youngster who isn't in line to start anytime soon but is still "on the come up" in Warhop's eyes is fifth-round rookie Carson Vinson. He was the only prospect from a Historically Black College selected in this year's draft and has been a healthy scratch in all but one game thus far this season, but that could be subject to change in the near future.

"He's on the verge of challenging to be active," Warhop said. "Every week he gets better. He still has some stuff to work through, but all the young guys we have – I think we have five young guys between the practice squad guys and Carson and 'Em' [Emery Jones Jr.] – all those guys are really pushing and getting better. It's fun to watch them at practice. They give our defense all they want every day."

Unlike Bullock, who was a college tackle that projected better playing inside at guard and center, Vinson is strictly a tackle and could be poised to usurp veteran Joseph Noteboom as the Ravens' top swing tackle. With two-time Pro Bowl left tackle Ronnie Stanley dealing with an ankle injury the past couple of weeks, his primary backup position is an important situation to monitor as the team prepares to go on a run coming out of their bye.

For fans hoping that Jones Jr. will be a potential option to replace either one of Andrew Vorhees or Daniel Faalele when the team returns to action, Warhop poured a bucket of cold water on those smoldering flames. The third-round rookie is still just getting his bearings after missing all of the offseason, training camp, preseason and first six games.

"What I can tell you is that he goes hard," Warhop said. "This was his first day he could really do 'pass pro' [protection], so he did some nice stuff in 'pass pro.' So, it's hard for me to project what he does well when he's been on a limited basis to this point."