If the Los Angeles Rams need to use their first draft pick on a player who will help them immediately, then guard Olaivavega Ioane out of Penn State would not be the best choice. But if the Rams want to continue to build on the NFL’s best offensive line and keep the offense stable for another five years behind that unit, then Ioane could be the perfect pick at 13.
And nobody’s talking about it.
Just because it’s not expected doesn’t mean it’s a bad idea. Or that Les Snead and Sean McVay haven’t seen the tracks laid down for why Ioane makes sense.
The Rams are nearing a financial impasse at guard
Both Kevin Dotson and Steve Avila are free agents in 2027 and it’s actually the older Dotson who makes more sense to extend.
The Rams should not pay both. It’s just bad business to have $40 million per year spent on two guards.
If the Rams drafted Ioane, they could trade one of their other two guards for immediate savings or once again attempt to move Avila back to center and hope for an upgrade at that position. Coleman Shelton was by far L.A.’s worst offensive lineman in 2025, so moving Avila inside gives the Rams a chance at upgrading two positions for the price of one.
Drafting Ioane puts L.A. in an easier financial position in 2026 and 2027.
Drafting a CB at 13 is boring and bad
The most common mock draft pick for the Rams right now is cornerback Avieon Terrell out of Clemson. Umm sure, okay, fine. Everybody agrees that L.A.’s cornerbacks took the brunt of many bad defensive plays in 2025 and therefore cornerback has been deemed as “the problem” and therefore the same boring assumption is made as every other mock draft year:
“Well, just draft the position that is worst on your team.”
This flies directly in the face of the draft strategy that every fan agrees is bad: Draft the best player available.
Is the 5’11, 186 lbs cornerback a better prospect than Ioane, a guard with a consensus top-20 grade who virtually everyone agrees is the best interior offensive lineman in the 2026 class? What gets you more hyped up as a football fan:
- A mauling offensive lineman who makes an impact on every single offensive play?
- An undersized cornerback who might get targeted 6 times and won’t help much in run defense?
If you want the Rams to draft a cornerback with their first pick then you better be dead sure that this player will neutralize any threats by Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Marvin Harrison Jr., A.J. Brown, etc.
Taking a cornerback in the first round could be fine, but oftentimes is also a red herring. Although the two most recent Super Bowl teams drafted a first round corner in 2023 (Devon Witherspoon and Christian Gonzalez, respectively), the Seahawks also drafted a top-20 guard last year and what was the Patriots biggest weakness in the playoffs? Interior offensive line.
You can mask issues at cornerback. But it’s much harder to atone for problems protecting the quarterback and opening up running lanes. L.A. didn’t have those issues in 2025, but what about 2026, 2027, and 2028?
Several of the best young players in the NFC West include defensive tackles like Byron Murphy (Seattle) and Walter Nolen (Arizona).
Ioane may have the least likely “bust” outcome
One of the things that made Grey Zabel such a popular pick for the Seahawks last year at 17th overall was that every analyst agreed that he’s a versatile stud. Zabel’s rookie season had the predictable ups and downs, he’s far from a finished product, but Seattle’s offensive line room has a lot more reason for optimism moving forward because of Zabel than that team has had in 20 years.
If a guard is worthy of a top-20 pick, as most believe Ioane is, it means that he must be really, really good. There’s no such thing as a safe pick and guards bust like every other position, but in the first round they bust less often than common top-20 picks like receivers, quarterbacks, and edge rushers.
The Cowboys drafted Tyler Booker 12th overall last year and Dallas fans are far happier with the pick after one season than they were when the pick happened:
Offensive linemen typically take time to develop so no one expected Booker to dominate on Day 1. Based on PFF stat tracking, Booker allowed 25 pressures and three sacks in his rookie season. It might not be enough to win him Pro Bowl honors, but it’s an impressive feat considering the level of talent he faced in his first year.
Overall, Booker graded as the top rookie guard in his draft class, ranking first of 11 qualifying prospects. Perhaps most impressive was the progression Booker showed as the season went on. His PFF grade from Week 8 to Week 18 ranked him in the top 20 of all NFL guards. It’s a status almost unheard of for rookie linemen.
Ioane is likely a higher rated guard prospect in 2026 than Booker and Zabel were in 2025.
Daniel Jeremiah loves Ioane, noting he’d be a great pick for the Ravens at 14:
“For me it is,” NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah said on “The Lounge” podcast. “People say [there’s not enough positional value at] guard. I don’t care.
“He’s a dominant player. He’s the best offensive lineman in the draft. The Ravens love collecting Pro Bowl-caliber players and don’t get carried away with positional value too much. You talk about middle of the fairway. That’s a middle-of-the-fairway pick.”
That’s assuming that Ioane makes it to 14.
At 6’4, 320 lbs, Ioane should have the beef and power required of a Rams offensive lineman. He possesses more skill than Avila and gives McVay a longer-term answer at left guard, either pushing Avila inside to center and providing the Rams the biggest and most powerful interior in the league, or allowing L.A. to make a trade or at least save themselves the money and/or hassle to replace a guard in 2027.
Avila came away with the second-best pass protection grade on the starting unit last season, but the worst run blocking grade.
Lance Zierlein of NFL.com is also a fan of Ioane and notes his excellent contact balance as a plus:
Prototypical guard for physical run schemes with thick limbs, a broad frame and plus core strength. Ioane plays with excellent contact balance and technique on both base blocks and double teams. He uses his hips and hands for leverage and displacement when drive blocking. However, he lacks athleticism and foot quickness to operate effectively as a move blocker. He pass sets with good posture and a firm punch and can anchor against power. Though quicker at a lighter weight in 2025, he will struggle with twitchy interior defenders who cross his face in the run game and attack his edges in protection. Despite scheme dependence, Ioane projects as an early starter with a high floor.
If the Rams went out to left field to pick a left guard at 13, they still have their pick at 29 to address cornerback at a much more reasonable risk at the end of the first round instead of near the top-10. If there is a cornerback prospect as good at his position as Ioane is at his position and he’s available at 13, then great, pick him.
But if all other tests at other positions fall short of the mark of being worthy of that pick, then forget immediate positional needs. What you need above everything else in the draft…is the best available player.
In this case, it might be Vega Ioane.
