Until inside defensive line players like Aaron Donald came onto the scene, the offensive guard was an afterthought for team construction in the NFL. The pass-first league ushered in by Aaron Rodgers and Peyton Manning led to the glory days of “The Blind Side” and the overpaid and overpraised Offensive Tackle to defend against the edge rush. Many tackles have benefited greatly from this era, like Rodger Saffold ($51 million career earnings), Eric Fisher ($61 million), Duane Brown ($60 million), and Riley Reiff ($52 million). Russell Okung has racked up $95 million since 2010 and has a mere two Pro Bowls on his resume. Even as late as last year, average tackles like Nate Solder and Trent Brown still commanded over $15 million annually.
Marshal Yanda stands in between two periods in the history of offensive line play. Entering the league in 2007, he embodied an almost-forgotten era of shear toughness and anger in the trenches. Cliches like ‘corn-fed’ might apply from states like Iowa, but Yanda fought his way through two seasons of football at North Iowa Area Community College before the University of Iowa brought him on. Leaving in 2020, he paved the way for interior line-glory against quick, strong interior lineman like Aaron Donald and Fletcher Cox (check out The Ringer’s 2017 piece on how he learned to pass-block while playing tackle and converted that knowledge to playing guard).
His agility and instincts allowed made him a force multiplier and set the standard for fast, lateral, technique-driven OGs in the run game. Yanda’s future in the NFL was never foretold during college (and community college) years. In his last year with the Hawkeyes, he earned third-team All-American honors and second-team Big Ten honors. Impressive, and earned by grit and an unwavering faith in himself, but such accolades provided no indication of what Yanda’s future would hold.
In his first three seasons, Yanda split time between RT, LT, and RG while starting 26 games to solidify his status on Baltimore’s line. The Raven’s focus was on their 1st round pick from the same year, fellow Offensive Guard Ben Grubbs from Auburn. Grubbs started 12 games his rookie year and all 16 games for the next three years, but departed Baltimore for New Orleans after the 2011 season just as Yanda was beginning his reign as the dominant interior lineman of the AFC.
Yanda started his first full season in 2010 and made enough of an impact to earn a new $32 million dollar contract. His first Pro Bowl followed the year in 2011, the same year he also became an All Pro for the first time (Second Team). The dominance lasted for the rest of the decade. Yanda’s continuous Pro Bowl selections between 2011 and 2016 is the longest streak among active Guards today. A broken ankle in 2017 interrupted that season, but following a tough recovery, voters elected him again in 2018 and 2019 for eight total Pro Bowl appearances. The full resume at retirement includes two First Team All Pro selections (2014, 2015) and five Second Team All Pro selections (2011, 2012, 2016, 2018, 2019). Combined with a Super Bowl win, he is the most decorated interior offensive lineman of the NFL since he was drafted.
His toughness, seemingly from a by-gone age of football, was legendary. He is the only player from the 122 on his community college team who made it to a Division I program. To prove himself to his team as a rookie, he accepted a bet from Samari Rolle to get tased. In the 2012 season a surgeon split a muscle in his leg to help him play, and he returned to the field only a day after the procedure. His discipline drove every aspect of his schedule, life, and training routine, both in and out of season, which undoubtedly led to his longevity.
The deals bought the Ravens’ a legendary player. Pro Football Focus (PFF) ranked Yanda as the top guard in football from 2014-2016 and the most valuable offensive lineman in the NFL since 2006, despite splitting snaps between multiple positions throughout his career. In his last 2,331 pass-blocking snaps, Yanda gave up one sack. He once produced 1,014 consecutive pass-blocking plays without a single QB hit or sack. In his last 94 games, he’s only had four holding penalties.
Yanda earned massive respect around the league as a dominant inside lineman and a run-blocking phenom with great footwork, capable of sealing off linebackers and opening lanes. His fellow players voted him onto the NFL Top 100 for four years in a row between 2014 and 2017. No other guard outranked him, and only a handful of tackles earned more respect, though never at the same time. As an interior lineman, Yanda ranked among his OT peers like Joe Thomas, Tyron Smith, Jason Peters, Trent Williams, and Andrew Whitworth. Ryan Kalil was the only other interior lineman who appeared on the list, and then far below Yanda.
By Pro Football Reference career value calculations, only Adrian Peterson, Patrick Willis, and Darrelle Revis rank higher from the 2007 draft. No other offensive lineman from 2007 through 2012 rank higher.
Marshal Yanda was an undisputed great talent, but more importantly from a franchise standpoint, he was a great value. In 2015 as he approached the peak of his career, his 4 year, $32 million contract put him as only the 5th highest paid offensive lineman behind names like Andy Levitre and Orlando Franklin. The deal was a testament to Yanda’s faith in the Ravens’ organization and the trust and devotion Ozzie Newsome built between his players. His contracts compared to other offensive linemen have always been modest. From 2014 to 2018, his annual earnings compared to other linemen ranked 12th, 27th, 67th, 18th, and 20th.
Marshal Yanda’s peers in terms of performance and longevity during the last decade and a half are few, but worth comparing. Looking at offensive linemen as a group, Jason Peters, Andrew Whitworth, Jahri Evans, Duane Brown, and Joe Staley compare in terms of accolades on the exterior OL, while Ryan Kalil, Alex Mack, Logan Mankins, and Josh Sitton are the closest comparisons on the interior. Only Joe Thomas and Jason Peters had more Pro Bowls. Only Thomas and Jahri Evans had more All Pro selections (this speaks to the GOAT status of Joe Thomas as an offensive lineman).
When comparing career earnings to accolades, Yanda stands out for his value. In the group of stars listed above, only Logan Mankins earned less money per Pro Bowl selection ($7,406,529 vs $8,777,418). Yanda earned $9,492 per game start for the Ravens, compare to $13,834 for Ryan Kalil and $13,414 for Logan Mankins (Joe Thomas earned his purgatory in Cleveland, accumulating $21,210 per snap in his years with the Browns).
The Ravens acquiring Yanda in the 3rd round in 2007 after already drafting a guard in the 1st was the equivalent of buying a 2020 F-350 for the price of a 1994 Dodge Dakota. Marshal Yanda may have been the most efficient offensive line acquisition which any NFL team has made in the 21st century. Baltimore GM Eric DeCosta announced today that #73 would sit forever in the Ravens’ Ring of Honor. Incredibly, he’s not even the best Baltimore O-lineman of all time, joining former teammate Jonathan Ogden in the halls of beltway history. Rest easy big fella, enjoy Iowa and retirement.