C Ryan Jensen – 6-4, 319 – 28 years old – 8th season

Hailing from D-II Colorado State-Pueblo, Jensen might be the team’s “big school” interior offensive lineman compared to his two wingmen in the Bucs’ lineup, with Ali Marpet having attended Hobart College and Alex Cappa coming from Humboldt State. Jensen is also the one that was given the least chance at succeeding through probably every step of his career, so establishing himself as a top five center in the NFL last season, the seventh of Jensen’s career, was probably incredibly satisfying.

“Former D-II left tackle that played left tackle as a freshman & sophomore at like 240-260, then 270 pounds,” Thorn said. “Even though it was D-II, he still had to fight his ass off to hang in there. That scrapper mindset is what he credits with him being where he is today.”

Jensen is an offensive line coach’s dream. He’s stacked on weight at every level of football he’s played, and he’s just kept getting better. The 203rd pick in the 2013 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Ravens (ranked 223rd on the consensus board), Jensen didn’t start a game until his third season in the NFL, and had started just nine heading into his fifth year. Since then he has not missed a single snap, starting all 16 games for three straight campaigns without coming off of the field.

“His approach to the game is continually progressing, too,” Thorn said. “He’s big on tape study & really digs into his opponent. He doesn’t just watch the cut-ups teams give their players these days, he’s more of a full-game guy. So he watches games from start to finish & picks up on a lot of little details that way. His process is really impressive, man. The way he gets under guys’ skin is mastermind type stuff.”

No center in the NFL in 2019 patrolled the pocket and looked for work better or with more tenacity than Jensen 🔨⚒️💥 pic.twitter.com/oc8DDXTRAI

— Brandon Thorn (@BrandonThornNFL) January 23, 2020

After studying several games of Jensen, I can say without question he is one of the most physical players in the NFL. He hurls his body at free rushers and tries to finish every block. Jensen plays with such a ferocious intensity, that I wonder if his greatest asset to the team is simply the mentality and demeanor he brought with him from Baltimore two years ago. The man is just an absolute dog on the field, and it is no coincidence that last season was the most physical the Bucs offensive line has been in a long time.

Jensen has been a good starter for awhile now, but last season he took his game to another level, especially in pass protection. A lot of his success stems from how good he is pre-snap, putting himself in position to succeed by winning from the neck up before all else. He was terrific against twists and stunts all year, but he also has unbelievable awareness to provide help to his guards when an opposing rusher puts them in a tough spot.

I’m not sure I’ve scouted an interior offensive lineman as mentally prepared and as physically willing to provide help in pass protection as Jensen. The guy is like a cat after a mouse, just hunting for defenders to pounce on around the A-gaps. Jensen saved multiple drives and scoring opportunities last season after teammates were beat and he swooped in to save the day. That’s hustle, heart and physicality to go along with his outstanding smarts.

It hasn’t always been sunshine and roses for Jensen however. He was solid in his first season in Tampa Bay after signing a big contract in free agency, but not the dominant player he was in 2019. What changed?

“One of the biggest things is just being in Bruce Arians and (assistant head coach and run game coordinator) Harold Goodwin’s system,” Thorn said. “This is a much better fit for Jensen’s skill set than Todd Monken/Dirk Koetter was. Goodwin comes from a background with more gap runs that allow the line to get vertical off the ball and combo/double up to ‘backers. It calls for a lot of down blocks from the center which Jensen was outstanding at last year. Pinning, steering, banging down and getting the nose gapped over, etc.”

Jensen has the power and technique to displace opponents in the run game, but what stands out more than that is how rarely he falls off blocks and how often he seals up the first level with terrific technique and positioning. Jensen is rarely driven backward in the run game, consistently winning at the point of attack and working diligently to stay on blocks even as wrestling matches ensue with bigger, stronger opponents.

“The single most improved area of his game from 2018 to 2019 was the angles he took climbing to the second level,” Thorn said. “He very rarely overshot ‘backers and was able to fit, latch, & sustain at such a high level in space in 2019. There were also opportunities sprinkled in throughout games where he acted as a lead blocker in space which is where he initially thrived in Baltimore in Greg Roman’s scheme. So there was a perfect balance in Goodwin’s scheme with his teachings that fit what he does best nearly perfectly.”

Here’s one example of what Thorn is talking about, as Jensen down blocks heavy on the shaded nose tackle and takes him to the second level with eyes on the backside ‘backer. After he feeds the shade to right guard Alex Cappa, Jensen smoothly transitions to the linebacker as the play ends.

Jensen’s ability to pull and hit moving targets in space is another huge asset to Tampa Bay’s run scheme. On this play the defensive techniques shift right before the snap, so Marpet down blocks and Jensen pulls along with Donovan Smith on the pin-and-pull action. Linebacker tries to shoot the gap and Jensen cuts him down perfectly.

Although I agree with Thorn about Jensen in the run game, I also think this season was the best I’ve ever seen Jensen protect in the pass game. As a center you’re usually uncovered a bit more than any other offensive line position, and we’ve already talked about his prowess looking for work in those situations, but I also thought he handled rushers on-on-one extremely well.

Still, if Jensen has one area of concern it’s that he’ll surrender some space to the bull rush. That’s not uncommon for centers, but Jensen lost his footing while being knocked backward more than once this season, surrendering pressure as a result.

One of the final, most important areas where Jensen improved in 2019: penalties. In his first season with the Bucs, Jensen was penalized a whopping 11 times, tied for fifth-most of any player in the NFL that year. In 2019, that number plummeted to just three, including zero unnecessary roughness penalties after four the year prior.

Overall, Jensen was easily a top five center in the NFL this past season, and there is a legit argument to be made for him being higher. Thorn believes such praise is deserving.

“This was the best year of Jensen’s career,” Thorn said. “He was unreal. His ’17 tape during his last year in Baltimore was good, but in 2019 he was a different player. I honestly think he was a top 2-3 center in football.”

If Jensen can maintain that level of play in 2020, the Bucs will boast one of the best interior offensive lines in the NFL. That’s huge for a quarterback who feels edge pressure and steps up in the pocket as well as Tom Brady does.

You can check out Ryan Jensen’s 2019 highlight reel on Thorn’s Patreon right here. It’s pretty incredible.