Penn State football hosted its Pro Day on Wednesday, March 18. A number of Nittany Lions participated in the event, hoping to impress the NFL scouts in attendance whether they were invited to the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine or not.
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For one scout, he had his eyes on a very familiar draft prospect.
Offensive guard Olaivavega Ioane is projected as Penn State's sole first-round selection of the 2026 NFL Draft. He stayed afloat as a top prospect while his teammates sunk due to a poor 2025 campaign. Ioane was invited to the combine and remained a prime target for one NFL team in particular: the Baltimore Ravens.
Baltimore has the 14th overall pick of the draft coming up in April. Since the start of mock draft season, Ioane was a favorite to land with the Ravens. On Wednesday, that became even clearer that he's the player they want.
According to Jeff Zrebiec and Zac Jackson of The Athletic, Baltimore offensive line coach Dwayne Ledford was in attendance at Penn State's Pro Day.
Penn State is having its Pro Day today and per my colleague @AkronJackson, Ravens OL coach Dwayne Ledford is amongst those in the house.
— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiec) March 18, 2026
Penn State’s top prospect is G Vega Ioane who has been connected to Ravens throughout pre-draft process.
Ioane allowed zero sacks in 2025 and just three pressures over 310 pass blocking snaps. The All-Big Ten Second Teamer and second-team All-American might be exactly what the Ravens need.
Their offensive line is weak, due to both poor production and health issues throughout 2025. Rookie guard Emery Jones Jr. spent his first NFL season rehabbing a shoulder injury, per Ravens Wire. Daniel Faalele is expected to depart in this back half of free agency, and Andrew Vorhees is expected to be put on the back burner by Baltimore.
With Ledford taking the trip to Happy Valley, it's a clear indication that the Ravens are practically tunnel-visioned on picking up Ioane. He's the best guard in the 2026 draft class and can open up room for whoever his quarterback is.
One other club that might put its name in the hat for Ioane that Baltimore should be wary of, though, is New York.
The Giants are also in need of a guard for their young quarterback, Jaxson Dart. With head coach John Harbaugh hoping to turn the franchise around as soon as year one in New York, that could start with a trade down in the draft to select Ioane. It's almost a fool-proof way of keeping Dart protected and as scratch-free as possible.
At the end of the day, it'll come down to who picks first. The Giants currently have the No. 5 overall pick of the draft, and trading down is a chance to waive a blue-chip difference-maker for a positional need. They just need to make sure that trade down is for a pick before the Ravens.