Road Graders: What Does Vega Ioane Bring to the Baltimore Ravens?

The Ravens drafted Olaivavega Ioane 14th overall in the 2026 NFL Draft. So what does he bring to the table?

Let’s hit the film!

Transcript

What is going on everyone? It’s your guy Cole Jackson back here on Road Graders and today we are taking that next step in postdraft coverage. We are going from some of the verbal commentary. We’re going straight into the film room. We are going to start breaking down each and every Baltimore Raven draft prospect. Now that we know who’s been picked, it’s time to dive into the film and ask the question, what are we getting out of these guys? And we are starting with Vanga Yane. And what we’re going to do first, we’re going to go straight to the film for how uh how he pronounces his name because this is I get comments on every video saying that it’s not WA with an N. And let’s just go watch him say it because he got asked at the combine. Uh you guys should be able to hear this audio. So let’s turn up your volume if you can’t. Mom and dad, but full names Ovenga Yan. Ovenga Yan. Whole name’s Ovenga Yan. Name’s Ovenga Yan. You hear it? You hear it? You hear it?

Okay. So, let’s put that to bed. Let’s not uh let’s not rehash this again. There is an N. I will be referring him to him as Vanga Yuan for the rest. Um so, let’s dive into it. Talk about him. I had to do that for fun. Um let’s talk a little bit about the prospect. I’ve looked at this chart a few times, so um I won’t belabor the point. Pause it if you want to read through it. The big thing I want you guys to take away from from this chart for this purpose is really the snaps by alignment in the bottom left corner. Taking a look at the fact that he has played um 17 snaps at center which I I I don’t think are overly predictive and it’s more the fact that he’s played almost 300 snaps at right guard because there’s a lot of questions about where he’ll play. I mean obviously the key takeaway his pass production production his pass protection production has been insane.

He’s only allowed um the quarterback to be touched, whether that’s a sack or a QB hit once in the last two years, which is absurd. Um he went from 16 hurries in 16 games in 2024 to four in 2025. Just his his pass protection production has been absolutely absurd. It is why I was so high on him as a prospect. We will talk about his run blocking where I have a little bit more concern. Um taking a look at his Raz score. Uh big takeaways here. came in at 63 320. That was up to 325 at uh his proday, which I think is interesting. We’ll we’ll we’ll keep an eye on where his weight comes in. Ideally, I’d like to see him around 320, 315 uh for, you know, the purposes of zone blocking. I actually think 320 is a really good weight, and you can really see what he put together when he did his vert. He obviously didn’t get a Raz cuz he didn’t do enough drills, but you know, 31 12 really shows his vertical explosion. Uh the broad not as high, but still very respectable at that size. So, um, obviously very impressive there, but you guys came for the film. Let’s not belabor the point. Let’s get into this.

I’m also trying a new technique where my screen will be on the face or we’ll be my my screen will be on and you should be able to see my drawing uh when I do the commentary. The big thing here, I want to be very clear about this. The clips are going to look a little weird because um these videos have been getting hit with copyright strikes like crazy. Um, I tried to narrow condense to hopefully avoid the scanning technology. So, it’s going to be very narrow. We’re going to do our best with it. It’s it’s either this or I don’t do it. So, um, you know, bear with me here. Let’s make the best of it. Let’s dive into it. Dive into the tape. So, we’re going to start here with his pass protection. Um, really diving into what I see. And what I want to start here is a few reps of, and obviously we’re looking at left guard.

The clips are going to look a little weird because these videos have been getting hit with copyright strikes like crazy. I tried to narrow and condense to hopefully avoid the scanning technology. So it’s going to be very narrow. We’re going to do our best with it. It’s either this or I don’t do it. So, bear with me here. Let’s make the best of it. Let’s dive into it. Dive into the tape.

So, we’re going to start here with his pass protection, really diving into what I see. And what I want to start here is a few reps of—and obviously we’re looking at left guard—is really taking a look at his posture, his body control, and that’s really where the focus of these first few are. We’ll kind of watch it through and then come back and break it down.

This rep here against UCLA earlier this year is just a really good example. So he’s going to try and get squared up here. Big takeaways—look where his hands are. Look how he’s controlling that chest plate right there. He’s got the D-lineman’s hands up. And then as the D-lineman tries to push through, this is that type of back arc that we want to see. So we want to attack that inside, land those inside hands, work that chest plate up, and then create that leverage. And this is just exactly what he does.

He creates leverage. You can see his body control and posture. At no point during this rep is he out of control. Consistent, consistent, consistent across reps is this type of stuff. And this is why that pass protection grade is so high.

Good rep here against Kaden McDonald to show the same thing. One thing—he’s going to take that inside step here. So he’s going to step in, square up, and then right there, fight. You can see him refitting. As he’s refitting, Kaden’s trying to push through him, and you can see Kaden kind of goes into a low gear there at the end. But the way he overtakes this block with his body control and posture—we’ve got that nice wide base, inside hands. Look at his core. If you focus on the sides of his body, they never leave that mark with his knees flared out. That’s how you know his posture is so consistent.

Back against UCLA again, you can see 99 get him with a little hesitation. You see that patience as he pops up—patient, patient—and then shoots his hands. This is the only rep where he kind of gets pushed back a little bit, but it’s very minimal. Because he delays that attack, he’s able to refit, get under, and create that step-up lane without breaking the integrity of the pocket.

Again, he gets pushed back a little bit, but his body posture—his back arc—comes in and nobody’s getting by him. That’s the key thing here.

Good rep against Indiana. Same thing—loses a little control at the end, but the rep was already over. His body posture never changes. Again, he’s going to run the defender out of the play.

Another UCLA rep—you can see the way he pushes down, recovers, protects that inside hand. As soon as we start to go that way, you want to keep that diagonal, that left foot a little bit back to form the pocket. As the defensive lineman crosses the middle line, he switches his footwork. That’s very impressive. He knows exactly what he’s doing.

You’re going to get a slant from the defensive end here, with an edge blitz outside. He picks it up. This is one of those reps that gets me really excited. His hands are cuffed inside, then push up on the chest plate. That’s where the rep ends—just dominant leverage.

Every rep is so consistent. Absolutely outstanding pass protection. I have very little to critique.

One critique you’ll see—he can give up a little bit of space if he gets beat to the outside. You see that on a couple reps, including one against Oregon. But even then, we’re talking about two of the four pressures he allowed all year. That speaks to his consistency.

Overall, his posture, body control, and anchor are about as stout as you can get. I’ve said it before—one of the best pass-protecting guard prospects I’ve watched in the last five years.

Now, we’ll talk about his run blocking, where I have a little more concern.

Penn State ran a very diverse scheme—inside zone, outside zone, gap, everything. You’re going to see here on combination blocks, he works extremely well with the tackle and center. He communicates well and climbs to the second level effectively.

You see that on deuce blocks, ace blocks—he sets up his teammates well, creates movement, and gets to linebackers. He’s very effective in those scenarios.

You also see him used creatively—lined up as a tight end, H-back, motion player. That shows his versatility and athleticism.

On drive blocks, you see flashes of explosiveness. He can come off the ball like a cannon. But there are times I’d like to see him impose his will a bit more consistently. He’ll line things up well, but not always finish with maximum force.

It’s not a major issue—just something to monitor.

In outside zone, you see both the good and the inconsistent. He has the athleticism to reach and seal defenders, but it’s not always consistent rep to rep. Sometimes he struggles to get across the face of a defender or to consistently seal at the second level.

Again, not a lack of ability—just consistency.

He shows intelligence as a blocker—reading defenders, understanding leverage, making the right decisions. That’s very encouraging.

He’s also very good on pulls—gets out in space, creates chaos, and opens lanes.

So overall, a lot to like. The main questions come down to consistency in the run game and how he fits into a predominantly outside zone scheme.

But from a pass protection standpoint? Elite.

You guys enjoyed that breakdown. Hopefully this doesn’t get hit with copyright strikes. If it does, I apologize.

Be good to yourselves, be good to each other.

Peace out, everyone.

The post Road Graders: What Does Vega Ioane Bring to the Baltimore Ravens? appeared first on Russell Street Report.

Source: https://russellstreetreport.com/2026/04/27/tale-of-the-tape/road-graders/road-graders-what-does-vega-ioane-bring-to-the-baltimore-ravens/