The Baltimore Ravens managed to knock it out of the park when they used the No. 14 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft to acquire Penn State guard Vega Ioane, and they kept adding some premium talent at positions of need by selecting Missouri defensive end Zion Young in the second round.
The Ravens nabbed Young with the No. 45 pick in the Draft, giving them another standout edge-setter who can team with Trey Hendrickson to get this defensive line back to the dominant level fans expect it to be with new head coach Jesse Minter at the sticks.
Young is not going to be everyone's cup of tea, but for a Ravens team that needed one more edge-setter on the line for Minter to run a version of his Los Angeles Chargers defense, players like Young needed to come to town as soon as possible.
Ravens select Missouri EDGE Zion Young in second round of 2026 NFL Draft
Young profiles as someone who will immediately join 2025 second-rounder Mike Green in the pass rush rotation. While Green struggles to defend the run, Young's ability to set the edge without sacrificing his rush skills made him a lock to be selected in the Top 50.
Young raised his profile at the Senior Bowl, as he showed some better-than-expected burst off the snap while flashing some impressive functional play strength. It doesn't take a football savant to see how Minter and this coaching staff are going to have some fun deploying him in different formations.
The lack of a history beating tackles with speed is going to come back to haunt Young early in his career, especially when he faces off against NFL-level tackles. With a pending DWI case, Young has an off-field issue that may have caused teams above the Ravens to question taking him.
The Ravens are of the mindset that there is no such this as having too many good pass rushers, especially in the AFC North. Young hitting his stride could be all the Ravens need to take last year's defense and kick it up a notch once Minter manages to implement his scheme.
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