Did The Ravens Maximize 8 Picks Through 5 Rounds Given Their Needs? Flock No

The Ravens took an odd approach with so many picks in a suspect draft, as their most critical need went largely ignored

Feb 24, 2026; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Baltimore Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta speaks at the NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Ravens 2026 draft failure or success will largely hinge on whether they made the right call at 45, how badly they may have misread the need to jump on multiple runs on offensive linemen and quality tight ends and what they managed to turn their fifth-round surplus into.

And, the end results were, well, interesting.

Absolutely not overwhelming, Not particularly exciting.

Definitely surprising if not shocking in that the position group with the most acute realtime need – even after selecting guard Vega Ioane – was the offensive line. It’s the position group that requires the most starters (5) and the most depth and college programs have trouble developing them and the Ravens have a left tackle who might be on barrowed time and no starting caliber center and a need at another starting guard spot, quite possibly and they lack a swing tackle who could maybe hold down left tackle in a pinch.

Anyone Peep The OL Depth Chart Before The Draft?

And by the end of the firth round – let’s be real about what the final two rounds of this weak draft really has to offer – they had brought in eight new players and Ioane was still the only offensive linemen. That’s staggering to me. I’d have been less surprised if they had grabbed three or four.

So, yeah, the first draft for rookie coach Jesse Minter is going to beg a lot of questions. They doubled down on pass catchers in the third-to-fourth wave of pass catchers to come off the board, but failed to add blue chippers. They added depth slot corners, maybe, and players that certainly look redundant and it feels an awful lot like quantity – and quantity in some odd spots – over quality.

Packaging multiple picks to try to grab yet another fourth-round pick (they did move up once), or finding a way to move up and grab a pick between 45th overall (edge Zion Yoing) and 80th (possession receiver Ja’Kobi Lane) would have been in order. Oh, and they somehow managed to avoid beefing up a scary situation at defensive tackle, too (Nnamdi Madubuike's comeback can't be viewed as sure thing, can it?).

Maybe general manager Eric DeCosta got lulled by the board falling to him in the first round and his “sweet spot” prediction coming true. Maybe he has big plans to start spending all the cap space they saved by doing another dangerous contract restructuring with Lamar Jackson (he’d better).

But I’m starting at this list of draft picks through the fifth round – the real meat on this bone – kinda sideways. And it’s gonna take a helluva job in player development, and some serious moves in trade or free agency, to have me not staring at their training camp roster the same way.

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