The Baltimore Ravens chose to make Emery Jones Jr. a healthy scratch in their Week 1 win against the Indianapolis Colts. As the 2025 third-round pick entered his second season, many were expecting him to be a primary backup. That wasn’t the case on Sunday.
Andrew Vorhees was the backup guard. After Vorhees’ poor 2025 campaign, Jones had a clear chance to jump him on the depth chart. It doesn’t look like that’s happened.
And if not now, when? Experience is important, but Jones’ potential and versatility put him in a prime spot for a bigger role in 2026. Instead, the Ravens’ season-opener showed Jones still has work to do to climb the depth chart under the new coaching staff.
Baltimore Ravens’ Emery Jones still has plenty of development ahead of him
One game isn’t enough to make a certain judgment on Emery Jones’ future in Baltimore, but it says a lot about his current standing on the depth chart.
The organization clearly didn’t view him as a starting option, as they opted to sign John Simpson and draft Vega Ioane. And rightfully so. After a horrendous year from the interior offensive line, the Ravens needed a higher ceiling at guard.
However, Jones still being trapped behind Andrew Vorhees presents a continuous challenge he has yet to overcome. He felt like a shoo-in to suit up given his ability to play both guard and tackle. The fact that the Ravens still gave the edge to Vorhees might be a bit worrying.
The struggle to supplant Vorhees dates back to last season, when Daniel Faalele and Vorhees turned in abysmal showing after abysmal showing. They were one of the worst guard duos in the NFL. Still, the two maintained their starting spots, and outside a handful of reps, Jones never made a name for himself in that room.
The 22-year-old played just 48 offensive reps in 2025 and earned an overall Pro Football Focus grade of 50.1. Clearly, things didn’t go great when he was thrown into the fire.
Injuries did hamper him throughout his rookie campaign, though. So a healthy training camp and preseason offered the perfect chance to jump Vorhees, right? I guess not yet.
While Jones eventually earned enough trust to see regular-season action in 2025, the new coaching staff may have forced him right back to square one.
This past offseason, offensive line coach Dwayne Ledford ironed out the hopes for Jones along his front. He wants Jones to be a Swiss Army Knife-esque player, playing multiple positions, and acting as the sixth or seventh lineman in the room. If Week 1 is any indication, he hasn’t reached that goal yet.
Still, that coaching shift could be the best thing to ever happen to Jones in the NFL. Former offensive line coach George Warhop was very questionable during his time in Charm City. Ledford, on the other hand, has been praised as one of the better coaches to lead an offensive line.
There could be long-term plans for Jones, too. He’s only 22, and the decision to make Vorhees active over Jones could simply be an experience-focused plan. Vorhees’ 20 starts of experience are important as a backup, no matter how bad they were, while Jones is still adjusting to the NFL level.
It’s not a sign to panic yet, but Jones’ Week 1 absence shows he might be on a slower path than some had hoped.
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