The Ravens had 11 selections to bolster the roster as they hope to make a deep playoff run in 2026, and our draft comparison series continues with a haul that happens to be fairly similar in terms of the positions drafted—with the players varying—based on our board.

 

Actual selections

1.14: G Olaivavega Ioane

2.45: EDGE Zion Young

3.80: WR Ja’Kobi Lane

4.115: WR Elijah Sarratt

4.133: TE Matthew Hibner

5.162: CB Chandler Rivers

5.173: TE Josh Cuevas

5.174: RB Adam Randall

6.211: P Ryan Eckley

7.250: DL Rayshaun Benny

7.253: G Evan Beerntsen

 

Wolf Sports selections

1.14: EDGE Rueben Bain Jr.

2.45: CB D’Angelo Ponds

3.80: WR Chris Brazzell II

4.115: G DJ Campbell

4.133: LB Harold Perkins Jr.

5.162: DL Zane Durant

5.173: TE John Michael Gyllenborg

5.174: WR Deion Burks

6.211: QB Jalon Daniels

7.250: WR J. Michael Sturdivant

7.253: CB Collin Wright

 

Thoughts

Olaivavega Ioane was connected to Baltimore throughout the pre-draft process, but it’s a bit of a surprise that the franchise passed on Rueben Bain Jr. when he was available—instead targeting an edge defender Round 2 with Zion Young. It sounds like Ioane will be switching to right guard with veteran John Simpson on the left side, and Young will be a power complement across from Trey Hendrickson and Mike Green.

 

The Ravens don’t have a huge need at cornerback with Marlon Humphrey, Nate Wiggins, and Chidobe Awuzie being their starting trio, but D’Angelo Ponds was clear case of best player available for us; he was knocked down boards due to his size, but Ponds has tremendous technique along with experience in zone-heavy coverage to fit the system under new head coach Jesse Minter if the team would have gone in that direction.

 

We really like what the organization did at wide receiver by taking the talented J’Kobi Lane in the third round and possession target Elijah Sarratt in Round 4—as both are bigger options to pair with Zay Flowers and huge values based on our board (No. 54 and No. 58, respectively). However, six-foot-four speedster Chris Brazzell II would have brought more vertical juice to pair with Lamar Jackson and stretch the field to lighten the box for Derrick Henry, so let’s see how all three develop at the NFL level.

 

Speaking of King Henry, there is obviously no one like him, but the Ravens got another value in a selection powered by team owner Steve Bisciotti when he zeroed in on 232-pound Adam Randall as his guy. Our board would have led to taking a couple of additional shots at wide receiver (Deion Burks and J. Michael Sturdivant), but Randall was our No. 75 overall prospect as someone we called “a big, downhill runner who combines old-school power and the ability to fit in more of a spread attack.”

 

Highlighting the other selections, Baltimore replaced Jordan Stout with Ryan Eckley at punter and selected two tight ends (which worked in 2022 with Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar), while we would have gotten a natural right guard in DJ Campbell and targeted Zane Durant—a nice insurance policy for Nnamdi Madubuike—to join the defensive front.