When the Ravens were on the clock at No. 14, they had three good options staring back at them: guard Vega Ioane, outside linebacker Rueben Bain Jr., and tight end Kenyon Sadiq.
General Manager Eric DeCosta is always looking for value, so when a trade back materialized, he was ready to take it.
According to The Athletic's Mike Silver, the Ravens were set to get a fourth-round pick in this year's draft and a fourth-round pick in 2027, but the other team backed out of the deal.
During an appearance on "The Lounge" podcast, DeCosta shed more light on the potential deal.
"For us to trade back in any scenario probably would have had to include one of those three guys. We weren't going back any further than that," DeCosta said.
"For people to understand when talking about trading back, the furthest we would go back was 17 from 14, in that scenario, knowing we were going to get one of those three guys."
So, who wanted to trade up, and what made them back out? The three teams picking behind the Ravens were the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New York Jets, and Detroit Lions.
The Bucs took Bain, the Jets selected Sadiq, and the Lions drafted right tackle Blake Miller.
The Bucs were widely linked to wanting a pass rusher. Could they have looked to flip picks to ensure they got Bain, or were they willing to risk Baltimore not picking him? The Jets already got their pass rusher at pick No. 2 with David Bailey.
There were reports that the Lions were very interested in moving up to get an offensive tackle. In his final mock draft, ESPN's Peter Schrager had them jumping up to No. 13 to get Kadyn Proctor. However, Proctor was selected at No. 12 by the Miami Dolphins.
The Lions were also looking for a pass rusher and traded up six spots in the second round to take one (Michigan's Derrick Moore) one spot ahead of the Ravens. Baltimore took outside linebacker Zion Young, who they had No. 2 on their big board entering Day 2, with the next pick.
No matter which team it was, it seemed the Ravens may have had a good shot at getting Ioane even if they traded back, plus extra picks. The Bucs and Jets didn't draft a guard until the fifth and sixth rounds, respectively.
Anyway, when the other team called off the trade, it was an easy pick for DeCosta, who heard from Head Coach Jesse Minter, Offensive Coordinator Declan Doyle, and Run Game Coordinator/Offensive Line Coach Dwayne Ledord that they wanted Ioane.
"I thought Bain was great. I thought Sadiq was great. All three of those guys are outstanding players," DeCosta said.
"Vega was my favorite player in this draft. We were going to take him. … When you get a guy that's that clean, that you think has a chance to come in right away and start and maybe be one of the best in the league, it's an easy decision."
