After what he was able to get done for Penn State, it's no surprise that Olaivavega Ioane was a first-round pick. Yup, the big-bodied lineman's NFL dreams just came true, as he was taken with the No. 14 overall pick by the Baltimore Ravens.
He'll now be ready to block for Lamar Jackson, one of the most electric players in all of football? Yeah, Ioane would have surely signed up for that any day of the week. While plenty of Baltimore fans are celebrating this news, not everyone is over the moon about it.
In terms of offensive line help, Baltimore's AFC North rivals the Pittsburgh Steelers were also in need of some major assistance leading up to draft night. Steelers expert Tommy Jaggi was hopeful that Ioane would fall to Pittsburgh at No. 21, but it wasn't meant to be. The Steelers settled for Max Iheanachor, but you better believe they would have preferred Ioane instead.
We have selected guard Olaivavega Ioane at pick No. 14!!!!
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) April 24, 2026
Welcome to Baltimore!! pic.twitter.com/vXGwKkdL3D
Olaivavega Ioane will be ready to make a major splash for the Ravens next season
"It's hard enough when an out-of-conference team steals a player the Steelers have their eye on, but it hurts much worse when it's your most hated divisional rival," Jaggi wrote. "The Ravens may have already found new life after hiring a young, innovative coaching staff this offseason. Now they followed up their flashy offseason coaching hires with an outstanding pick in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft."
Yup, it's safe to say there's some envy among the Pittsburgh faithful, but that's nothing for Baltimore supporters to worry about. And for Penn State fans, while it would have been awesome to see Ioane stay close by in Pittsburgh, they're not too worried about that.
Instead, people are fired up to see that he was taken high in the first round and that he's getting praised for what he was able to get done with the Nittany Lions. A 6-4, 330-pounder, he is a head-turning specimen and an absolute force in the trenches.
He gave Big Ten defensive linemen all sorts of issues last season and he'll now be ready to do more of the same in the pros. In the last two seasons, the new Raven didn't allow a single sack and he wasn't called for holding once. Yup, he's got the tools to be a stud at the next level, which is why Baltimore had no choice but to take him off the board at No. 14.
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