Much of the Baltimore Ravens’ focus this offseason has revolved around the trenches. On defense, they added edge rusher Trey Hendrickson, and on offense, they’ve signed a few interior offensive linemen. The front office made it clear they’d put an emphasis on improving that area in free agency, and they’ve done a pretty good job of accomplishing that thus far.
Unfortunately for 2025 third-round pick Emery Jones Jr., the recent roster reconstruction has put him under a bit of pressure. Baltimore signed John Simpson to start at one guard spot in 2026 and made a flurry of depth signings in Jovaugh Gwyn and Danny Pinter.
While the runway is still there for Jones to claim the other starting guard role, there’s definitely more uncertainty than some originally expected.
Emery Jones Jr. may be pushed out of Baltimore Ravens' plans for starting offense
After what happened last year, Jones seemed poised to take on a starting role in 2026. The guard play was unbelievably bad. Andrew Vorhees failed to step up his game in his third season, and Daniel Faalele put up one of the worst performances of any player in 2025. With Faalele a free agent and Vorhees obviously on a downward trend, things appeared to be trending up for Jones.
However, the Simpson signing may shift Jones’ development. Simpson can play both left and right guard, but mainly occupies the left side. That’s where Jones saw his action last year, so Simpson very well could be gunning for his spot. A seamless switch to the right side will likely need to be in the picture if Jones wants to start. He could certainly get that done.
Jones played on the right side at LSU, mainly as a tackle, but also got reps at right guard. He flashed in his few reps in his rookie year and has the power and athleticism to swing over to the open right guard spot. His future remains a question mark, though, depending on what the Ravens do in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Baltimore has been matched with Penn State’s Olaivavega Ioane in countless mock drafts. They also attended Ioane’s Pro Day. There appears to be some sort of interest there, and if the Ravens used their first-round selection on him, then that would immediately push Jones out of the potential starting rotation.
It feels a bit unfair for Jones to be in this position. He really did everything he could in his rookie campaign, fighting back from an injury to showcase what he could become. However, Baltimore should be prioritizing protection for quarterback Lamar Jackson, so they won’t want to wait around too long for Jones’ development. If there’s a better player, like Ioane, available in this year’s draft, it would be hard to pass on him.
Overall, coming into the offseason, it looked like Jones would have an open opportunity to get starting reps. Now, though, that possibility is becoming clouded.