Mike Preston: Ravens’ incomplete draft will need time to develop
BALTIMORE — As one of the few media members who has covered every Baltimore Ravens draft, it’s amusing to watch or hear the grades that are immediately filed. It actually takes three to four years to determine final grades, unless a team has an unusually high number of first-round picks. ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr.
almost always gives the Ravens an A, and that’s usually followed by others based on the Ravens’ track record of having won two Super Bowl titles in 30 years, or having three former players — Jonathan Ogden, Ray Lewis and Ed Reed — in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. But it’s easily going to take at least three or four years to determine the final grade for the 2026 draft class. Only one pick, Penn State offensive lineman Vega Ioane, appears to be a slam dunk, while the rest of this group has to prove itself.
It’s strange because the Ravens had a higher pick in just about every round compared to late-round picks in recent years. The Ravens, though, apparently weren’t very high on centers in this class and didn’t take a tight end until they traded up to select SMU’s Mathew Hibner in the fourth round (No. 133 overall), giving up the No.
154 pick and a 2027 sixth-rounder. But they did take Missouri outside linebacker Zion Young in the second round, and then Southern California wide receiver Ja’Kobi Lane in the third and Indiana wide receiver Elijah Sarratt in the fourth. The Ravens haven’t had much success with big receivers in the past, but we’ll get to those later.
As far as Ioane, he is generally rated the best guard coming out of college by almost everybody. He is tough and physical, and when general manager Eric DeCosta compared him to former defensive tackle and Ring of Honor member Haloti Ngata, that made him an enforcer. Ngata was the protector of the Ravens’ defense, built in the same manner as former defensive linemen Sam Adams and Tony Siragusa.
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