With the No. 14 overall pick in the 2026 NFL draft, the Baltimore Ravens have selected Penn State guard Olaivavega Ioane.

The Ravens’ addition puts a fresh face into the center of the offensive line, which is a unit that has been under the microscope after a trying 2025 campaign. Ioane was perceived by some to be the best offensive lineman in this class — he just wasn’t a tackle. What he is? A Raven.

Here’s what you need to know about the pick and how Ioane projects to the NFL.

What to know about Olaivavega Ioane

Age: 22
A to Z Sports Draft Projection: All-Pro Potential

Career Projection: 

“Olaivavega Ioane, also known as Vega, is the consensus top guard in this year’s class. He’s coming off his best pass-blocking year after not allowing a sack or even a quarterback hit during the 2025 season. He is going to be a day-one starter in the NFL and is expected to be a darn good one pretty much immediately. You don’t typically see guards commanding the offensive line group, but that was the case for Ioane at Penn State.

It was a rough year at Penn State for nearly every member of their roster, but those struggles didn’t trickle down to Ioane. He was flat-out dominant all season long. His run blocking is what needs to improve at the next level. Once he engages the block, he’s fine, but sometimes he seems a tad slow to get there in the run game. Give him a year or two with an NFL offensive staff, and I think his run-blocking technique will improve drastically. And then I think we are looking at a future Pro Bowl and maybe even an All-Pro offensive lineman.”

Grading the Ravens selection of OG Olaivavega Ioane

This is what Eric DeCosta does. He’ll let the board fall in his favor before securing perceived consensus values at the top of the board. If you’re tired of the Daniel Faalele era of interior line play? I have good news for you. Those days are over. Ioane should be an impactful starter from the jump for Baltimore and help keep Lamar Jackson upright and healthy in 2026. He’ll join Emery Jones and John Simpson to provide Baltimore with some powerful options to man the interior spots. His addition should also help to mitigate the departure of center Tyler Linderbaum, who signed a $27 million/year deal with the Las Vegas Raiders this offseason.

Grade: A

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