{"id":825388,"date":"2026-03-21T16:21:44","date_gmt":"2026-03-21T16:21:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/825388\/"},"modified":"2026-03-21T16:21:44","modified_gmt":"2026-03-21T16:21:44","slug":"baltimore-ravens-bolster-trenches-in-latest-mock-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/825388\/","title":{"rendered":"Baltimore Ravens Bolster Trenches In Latest Mock Draft"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Baltimore Ravens missed the playoffs, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2026\/01\/16\/john-harbaugh-could-reunite-with-familiar-free-agent-deandre-hopkins\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">fired longtime head coach John Harbaugh<\/a>, and are moving forward with <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2026\/02\/13\/grading-the-baltimore-ravens-new-coordinators-of-the-minter-era\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">former Los Angeles Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter<\/a> calling the shots. This is the first time in forever that someone other than Harbaugh will be responsible for coaching up whoever the Ravens select, so all eyes should be on any mock draft that comes out between now and the start of the big event.<\/p>\n<p>While the Ravens lost several key players in free agency, they still have a first-round pick after the Maxx Crosby trade fell apart. In a recent mock draft,\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/bleacherreport.com\/articles\/25407634-2026-nfl-mock-draft-after-free-agency-signings-and-trades\" target=\"_blank\">Bleacher Report\u2018s Brandon Thorne<\/a> made his case for why the Ravens should select <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/12\/15\/vega-ioane-early-2026-nfl-draft-scouting-report\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Penn State guard Olaivavega Ioane<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBaltimore already brought back John Simpson but could still afford to upgrade the other guard spot, especially if the class\u2019s top-rated prospect at the position is still on the board,\u201d Thorn said. \u201cIoane provides a stouter presence than the team has had in years, possessing the demeanor and play-strength to reshape the offense\u2019s identity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ravens Select Guard Vega Ioane In Latest Mock Draft<\/p>\n<p>The Ravens have struggled to solve the guard position for years now. While tackle and center have never been an issue, Baltimore has always struggled to solidify the left and right guard positions. While Simpson\u2019s return is a fine short-term fix to one guard spot, Ioane should be a long-term fixture along the offensive line.<\/p>\n<p>The Penn State product is a downhill, physical type of player who has no issue imposing his will on opposing defensive tackles. This throwback style of play makes him a perfect match for Baltimore\u2019s offense, as he should clear lanes and allow <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2026\/02\/08\/a-j-brown-to-the-ravens-derrick-henry-pushes-for-blockbuster-trade\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">battering ram Derrick Henry<\/a> to build up plenty of momentum before crashing into linebackers.<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, it can\u2019t hurt to add more help along the offensive line. Quarterback Lamar Jackson struggled with injuries last year, and keeping him as healthy as possible is paramount to the success of this team. Baltimore already lost <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2022\/03\/20\/2022-nfl-draft-player-profile-tyler-linderbaum\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Tyler Linderbaum to the Las Vegas Raiders<\/a>, so adding someone like Ioane in this mock draft should help the Ravens keep an above-average line as they chase a championship in 2026.<\/p>\n<p>Main Photo: Kirby Lee \u2013 Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Baltimore Ravens missed the playoffs, fired longtime head coach John Harbaugh, and are moving forward with former&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":825389,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2052],"tags":[184,117,110508,2282,7,6,53910,169,10420],"class_list":["post-825388","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-baltimore-ravens","tag-baltimore","tag-baltimore-ravens","tag-baltimore-ravens-draft","tag-baltimoreravens","tag-football","tag-nfl","tag-olaivavega-ioane","tag-ravens","tag-ravens-featured"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116268084959195594","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/825388","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=825388"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/825388\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/825389"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=825388"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=825388"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=825388"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}