From Vega Ioane to Evan Beerntsen, here’s what makes the Ravens’ draft class special

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The Ravens entered the NFL draft last week in search of starters and leaders.

With their interior offensive line in flux, general manager Eric DeCosta needed a plug-and-play lineman — and a whole lot more. With coach Jesse Minter overseeing a culture change in Baltimore, DeCosta needed a tone-setter, too.

The Ravens believe they got both in guard Vega Ioane. The No. 14 overall pick, like safety Malaki Starks the year before, was considered a “red star” prospect on the Ravens’ draft board, embodying everything the franchise wants from its players on and off the field.

“I think this guy just really checked off every single box for us as a player: mentality, personality, ability, skill level, athletic ability, physicality, all those different things, at a very high level,” DeCosta said last week.

There was plenty more to like from the Ravens’ 11-man draft class. Here’s a look at what makes each player stand out.

G Vega Ioane: Pass protection

Ioane allowed no sacks and just one quarterback hit and was never called for a holding penalty in 27 games over the past two seasons at Penn State, according to Pro Football Focus. His blown-block rate on drop-backs last year was a minuscule 0.7%, according to Sports Info Solutions. DeCosta called him excellent in pass protection, which the Ravens needed to upgrade after the 2025 struggles of guards Andrew Vorhees and Daniel Faalele and All-Pro center Tyler Linderbaum’s offseason departure.

“Reactive athleticism is a very, very strong trait” in pass protection, offensive coordinator Declan Doyle said of Ioane. “He’s great with his hands. He does a great job of starting the fight in the rush. ... There’s a lot of areas of his game where he does a great job of controlling the depth of the pocket and being able to handle [opponents], whether that’s a guy playing outside of him or a guy playing in the ‘A’ gap. He does a great job in protection.”

Said Ioane: “Nobody’s going to touch my quarterback, and it’s as simple as that.”

OLB Zion Young: Power

The second-round pick from Missouri was one of PFF’s highest-graded edge rushers against the run last season and held his own against Alabama left tackle Kadyn Proctor, an eventual first-round pick who might’ve outweighed him by 100 pounds. Young’s power translated to his pass rush production, too; according to draft analyst James Foster, over half of his “wins” last season came on a bull rush or long-arm move, one of the highest rates of any edge rusher in the class.

“Zion is a rugged, tough, physical player,” Minter said. “I think he’s just scratching the surface of what he can be as a player. I think there’s a ton of upside there. I love his play style. He plays extremely hard and plays extremely physical. He’s very powerful in the run game, meaning, when he strikes blocks, they go the other way. When people pull on him and he strikes him, it’s a train wreck.”

WR Ja’Kobi Lane: Penalty-drawing prowess

The third-round pick from USC drew 12 pass interference penalties in 11 games last season, according to SIS, the most of any Power Four conference player. Since quarterback Lamar Jackson became a full-time starter in 2019, the Ravens have never drawn more than nine pass interference penalties total in a season. Even if Lane struggles to separate as a route runner, he will give Jackson a target with a huge margin for error: 6 feet 4, 200 pounds, 10.5-inch hands (97th percentile among wide receivers) and a 40-inch vertical leap (91st percentile).

“Above everything else, I think I am a great wide receiver that has a lot of traits besides the jump ball, and I am excited to be able to show that and bring that to Baltimore, as well as a bunch of other traits,” Lane said. “But, as soon as that ball is in the air, you can guarantee it’s coming down with me.”

WR Elijah Sarratt: Red-zone production

The fourth-round pick led the Football Bowl Subdivision with 15 touchdown catches last season at Indiana, and maybe no one was better inside the 20-yard line. Sarratt had 13 red-zone catches (second most among Power Four conference players) for 107 yards (most) and 11 touchdowns (most). Of course, it helped to have Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza as his quarterback, but Sarratt found his way to the end zone in a variety of ways: on slot fades, on out-breakers from outside alignments, on in-breakers from inside alignments, even weaving his way there after the catch.

“Big body, strong hands, contested catch, probably a guy that can play outside or inside,” DeCosta said. “We think he’s really, really good inside. … A good back-shoulder-fade type of receiver, physical. We just think he’s a really good fit for what we want to do offensively, and I think speaks to us.”

TE Matthew Hibner: Play-action ability

Just over half of the fourth-round pick’s 31 catches last year came off run fakes. But it wasn’t until late in the 2025 season that SMU really weaponized Hibner’s speed between the numbers. Over the Mustangs’ final four games, he had eight catches for 201 yards (25.1 yards per reception) on play-action targets. Hibner ran a 4.57-second 40-yard dash at the NFL scouting combine, but Ravens scouts had him in the low 4.5s, athleticism that was evident on a 37-yard “pop pass” touchdown against Boston College and an 80-yard catch-and-run score after a fake insert block against Arizona.

“His numbers are off the charts,” DeCosta said. “He’s really, really explosive, a great jumper, and has really good ball skills. He had an awesome year at receiving tight end.”

CB Chandler Rivers: Ball production

The fifth-round pick had 29 passes defended and seven interceptions over 45 career starts at Duke, including two pick sixes. Almost as impressive, he had three career forced fumbles, including a strip sack. Rivers’ 5-9, 185-pound frame will be a limitation throughout his career, but he impressed Ravens officials with his unflappability. One of his most impressive 2024 highlights came after Rivers lost his inside leverage at the line of scrimmage against a Southern Methodist slot receiver; he recovered quickly, flipping his hips, undercutting the pass and making a diving interception.

“Not as big in stature but plays with a really cool mindset,” Minter said. “I love the way that guy plays football. He attacks the ball, plays really physical and is a good tackler for his size.”

TE Josh Cuevas: Versatility

The fifth-round pick lined up everywhere last season for Alabama. Cuevas got 25 snaps at fullback; 55 snaps at wide receiver; 151 snaps in the slot; and 344 snaps at conventional tight end spots, a mix of in-line and H-back roles, according to PFF. He finished with 37 catches for 411 yards and four touchdowns, highlighted by crossing routes in the slot, chip-and-release routes from in-line spots and an out-and-up route for a deep catch as an isolated wide receiver against an LSU linebacker.

“You never can go wrong with an Alabama tight end,” said DeCosta, a nod to former Ravens GM Ozzie Newsome, who had a standout career with the Crimson Tide and became a Hall of Fame tight end in the NFL. “He’s a guy that does a lot of different things well. He runs good routes. He has good hands. He’s a competitive blocker. He can align in different spots.”

RB Adam Randall: Receiving background

The fifth-round pick is new to the position; Randall didn’t start getting carries as a running back until late in the 2024 season. But there’s a reason the former receiver earned the “Baby Julio” nickname early in his Clemson career. Randall had 36 catches for 254 yards and three touchdowns last season, including a 35-yard catch-and-run score on a swing route. His two other touchdown catches came on a fake wide receiver screen and a scramble drill play.

Randall’s ball skills need refinement — he had six drops last season and a career contested-catch rate of just 32.1%, according to PFF — but his experience as a receiver should make him a more credible threat when he’s aligned in the slot or out wide.

P Ryan Eckley: Consistency

The sixth-round pick averaged 46.8 yards per punt as a sophomore at Michigan State, 47.9 yards as a junior and 48.5 yards last season. Each mark ranked first or second in the Big Ten Conference. (The only punter to edge him was Iowa’s Tory Taylor, in 2023, a second-round pick of the Chicago Bears in 2024.) DeCosta also called Eckley the draft’s best holder, another important job he’ll inherit in the wake of All-Pro Jordan Stout’s departure.

DL Rayshaun Benny: Tackling

The seventh-round pick had 70 tackles over his five years at Michigan and missed just five total, according to PFF, a 4.6% rate that ranks among the lowest of any Ravens defensive lineman drafted over the past decade. (Chris Wormley, a third-round pick in 2017 and fellow Michigan product, was the Ravens’ only Division I product below 8% in that span.)

Benny wasn’t especially disruptive in college, posting just four sacks and 12 tackles for loss over his career, but he was a solid, versatile run defender. In Baltimore, he’ll reunite with former Wolverines and current Ravens defensive line coach Lou Esposito.

G Evan Beerntsen: Experience

The seventh-round pick played over 3,500 career snaps in college: 2,684 in his six years at South Dakota State, where Beerntsen won back-to-back Football Championship Subdivision national championships in 2022 and 2023, and 882 in his lone season at Northwestern. Beerntsen, who was awarded a seventh year of eligibility last year thanks to a medical redshirt, will turn 26 in September. He was born five months after former Ravens center Tyler Linderbaum, who is entering his fifth year in the NFL.

Beerntsen played primarily right guard in college and didn’t allow a sack in over 400 pass block snaps there last season. But he could be a center candidate.