The Baltimore Ravens made a predictable, safe decision with their first-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. At No. 14, they selected Penn State guard Olaivavega Ioane, the player most commonly mocked to them by experts (and prayed for by fans).
It comes as no surprise, therefore, that 68% of respondents to last night’s Ravens Reacts survey gave Baltimore an A grade for landing Ioane. Another 25% of fans graded it as a B, resulting in a whopping 93% approval rate.
Of course, there are fans who did not love the pick. 6% of respondents offered a C grade for Ioane, with another 2% down at a D. There are two primary reasons for this: positional value and opportunity cost. As I wrote last night:
Ioane seems a smart pick for the Ravens: a high-floor player and potential All-Pro at their biggest position of need, which happens to be blocking for their $260 million quarterback. But there were other worthy players available at premium positions, including Miami edge rusher Rueben Bain (No. 1 on Beatdown’s big board), Georgia offensive tackle Monroe Freeling (No. 6), and USC wide receiver Makai Lemon (No. 8). Outside of quarterback, those are the most expensive ones, and it is difficult to find elite talent outside of the first round at all three.
Simply put, instead of drafting Ioane, the Ravens could have landed a player with near-equivalent talent at a more valuable position. Does that make it a bad pick? Probably not, but perhaps not an ideal one.
However, no one gave the Ravens’ decision an F outright. That is indicative of how hard it is to quarrel with adding a seemingly sure-thing along the offensive line when it has been the offense’s primary weakness for the past few years.
Super Bowl odds rarely change with draft picks, especially an offensive linemen. The Ravens still sit at +1100 to win it all next year (via FanDuel Sportsbook). Interestingly, they have the fifth-highest odds of drafting Vanderbilt tight end Eli Stowers (No. 58 on Baltimore Beatdown’s big board), albeit still as a +1300 longshot. The Ravens had a high odds of drafting in the first round, but all bets are off heading into Day 2.