Vega Ioane reminds GM Eric DeCosta of a favorite Raven, will set tone for new era

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General manager Eric DeCosta has conducted hundreds of interviews over the years, so it takes a lot for one to rise above the rest.

Vega Ioane’s was one of those. As DeCosta spent time with the Penn State guard on his visit to Baltimore, he was struck by the similarities between Ioane and former Ravens defensive lineman Haloti Ngata.

“Just the way that he was with me in the office, and we were talking, laughing,” DeCosta said. “And his maturity, even though he’s a younger person, in the way that he carried himself with a quiet confidence, stood out.”

The comparison, which Ioane has heard before (he was born in American Samoa, while Ngata is of Tongan descent), is a compliment for more than the fact that Ngata was a five-time Pro Bowler. Ngata was also one of DeCosta’s favorite Ravens ever.

And Ioane was one of their favorite prospects in the 2026 draft. Head coach Jesse Minter said Ioane was “very, very, very” high on new offensive line coach Dwayne Ledford’s list of favorites.

When the time came for the Ravens to make their first-round pick at 14th overall and Ioane was still on the board, DeCosta said, it wasn’t an easy decision but Ioane was the best fit.

After Ioane was drafted, he met with the media via Zoom. DeCosta and Minter held a news conference later in Owings Mills. Here are the major points from what they said:

Ready to battle

After years of getting his pass protection up to speed, Ioane is excited to join a division in which he’ll go against dangerous pass rushers.

“That’s exactly what I want,” Ioane said. “I don’t want to go anywhere else, where it’s soft football.”

He added that he’s not going to let anybody touch his quarterback, a statement that resonated in the Ravens’ front office.

“That gives me a real charge,” Minter said with a smile.

He’s also a self-proclaimed “mauler,” which will help the Ravens continue their excellence in the run game as he opens lanes for Pro Bowl running back Derrick Henry.

“That’s been a hallmark of the Ravens over the last seven years, is the ability to run the football and be a physical, downhill team that can just take over games in crunch time and the fourth quarter and put teams away,” DeCosta said. “And so I think Vega really fits that mentality in the way that he plays.”

But Ioane isn’t just thinking about beating NFL pass rushers and nose tackles — he’s also thinking about the competition ahead of him at training camp.

He isn’t presuming he’ll walk in and start.

“My thing is, coming in and earning my keep,” Ioane said. “I have to earn the right to block for those guys. That’s how I think about things.”

Offensive line investment

In his predraft news conference, DeCosta said the Ravens have proven they’re willing to draft players at nonpremium positions but that can cost them down the road when it’s time to pick up the fifth-year option.

They encountered this with Pro Bowl center Tyler Linderbaum. Centers typically aren’t paid as highly as other players along the line, but the formula for the fifth-year option doesn’t take that into account. So the Ravens couldn’t pick up the option, and they had to negotiate with Linderbaum in free agency. He ended up going to the Las Vegas Raiders on a market-setting deal.

That contract is a sign of things to come, DeCosta said, not just at center but along the interior of the line.

“I think that we have seen the guard market start to mirror more of the tackle market,” DeCosta said. “We saw this year the center market trying to catch up. I think teams [and] people are realizing that these offensive linemen are special athletes who do very unique things. They’re hard to find. And so that market has grown and changed, and we’ll adjust with it.”

It also signals a new commitment to building the front, which DeCosta admitted they’d gotten away from.

“We want to be a strong, imposing team, and we probably haven’t invested as many resources in the offensive line recently,” DeCosta said.

Ioane is a start for what they want to establish, especially with a new coach.

“The guy that we got, I think, as a first pick, is the epitome of what we want the team to be like: a line of scrimmage-dominant team,” Minter said.

Sticking to the formula

In fitting Ravens fashion, they did not discuss trading up. But there was a chance to trade back.

Ultimately, they decided there was not enough value in later picks and stuck at No. 14.

They let the board fall to them, something former general manager Ozzie Newsome taught DeCosta to do. They not only ended up with Ioane, but they had other top options remaining.

“I said we were in a good spot leading up to the draft, and it sort of played out that way for us for what we wanted to accomplish with our team, with our roster,” DeCosta said.

No Madubuike news

Prior to the draft, ESPN reported that Pro Bowl defensive lineman Nnamdi Madubuike underwent neck surgery and could return this season.

DeCosta did not confirm that news when he was asked.

“That’s internal business,” DeCosta said. “It’s his business. If he wants to say anything about anything, he’s more than welcome to.”

He did, however, confirm that Madubuike is in the building and plans to remain in town. Madubuike was in and out of Baltimore last season.

DeCosta also confirmed that the Ravens picked up wide receiver Zay Flowers’ fifth-year option, adding that they would love to get a long-term deal done.

“We’re fired up,” DeCosta said. “I love Zay. He’s earned this. He’s a tremendous player with a great work ethic and a great personality — infectious, very talented.”