Ravens fortify offensive line with top pick Vega Ioane, passing on Rueben Bain

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A week ago, Eric DeCosta hinted that the Ravens’ draft strategy could be unpredictable.

But on Thursday night, with a surprising choice at hand at No. 14 overall, the Ravens general manager made one of the night’s most expected picks — and took one of the class’ cleanest prospects.

Penn State star Vega Ioane, whom DeCosta had touted as a prototypical guard pulled “straight from central casting,” will headline the Ravens’ offseason rebuild of their interior offensive line. After losing Pro Bowl center Tyler Linderbaum in free agency, along with starting right guard Daniel Faalele, DeCosta has added two projected starting guards in free-agent signing John Simpson and now Ioane.

Ioane, who like Simpson has played primarily left guard in recent seasons, was considered one of the draft’s best offensive linemen. He allowed no sacks over the past two seasons, according to Pro Football Focus, and gave up just four total hurries last year. Ioane had a blown-block rate in pass protection of just 0.7% in 2025, according to Sports Info Solutions.

“He projects as a tone-setting interior presence who can control the pocket and create movement in a downhill or balanced run game,” offensive line analyst Brandon Thorn wrote on his “Trench Warfare” blog. He rated Ioane as his top overall offensive line prospect.

Ioane was widely expected to be available at No. 14. So was Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadiq. Miami edge rusher Rueben Bain, however, was not. One of the draft’s most polarizing players, Bain dominated during Miami’s run to the College Football Playoff championship game, quieting concerns about his arm length.

The Ravens took Ioane, doubling down on their investment in quarterback Lamar Jackson and running back Derrick Henry. Jackson was sacked on a career-high 10.7% of his drop-backs last season, while Henry was hit at the line of scrimmage on 40.4% of his carries, up from 38.5% the year before, according to SIS.

“When I’m on the field, nobody is going to stand in front of me and survive,” Ioane said. “That’s my biggest mentality. I’m out there trying to move people off the ball, make them not get to my quarterback. That’s always been my mentality. But it’s a switch for me that I’ve been working on for a while, and it’s doing pretty well.”

This article will be updated.