Ravens Reveal Potential Role For Versatile Rookie OL

While Jones was thrust into playing a prominent role in his first year at the collegiate level, that won't be the case in pros with the Ravens. The team has one of the best starting tackle duos in the league with two-time Pro Bowl veteran Ronnie Stanley on the blindside and 2024 second-rounder Roger Rosengarten who is coming off a stellar rookie campaign starting opposite of him.

Following the loss of versatile veterans Patrick Mekari and Josh Jones in free agency, the Ravens needed to reinforce their depth chart at both guard and tackle as they were both the team's top swing tackle options. The Ravens believe Jones Jr. can help fill that void as a rookie while also continuing to cross-train at guard.

"We see him as a possible swing guy," head coach John Harbaugh said Friday in a post-draft press conference. "That's why I thought the pick was so good that [general manager] Eric [DeCosta] made. He's got the chance to be a swing backup tackle for us right away, but he also has a chance to go in there at guard and play. So, we're going to put him in at guard too, see how he does, and just get a feel for him once he starts practicing, get a feel for where he can help us, and we think he play guard and tackle."

The Ravens were able to successfully cross-train and develop Daniel Faalele who was a career tackle at every level into a starting-caliber guard on the right side of the offensive line. After overcoming some early growing pains, he earned his way to being voted a Pro Bowl alternate. The 2022 fourth-rounder is now heading into the final year of his rookie deal as the incumbent at the position.

Jones Jr. was one of six members from the Ravens' 11-man draft class that took part in the 2025 Reese's Senior Bowl, an all-star event they annually select multiple prospects from. That's where they got a chance to see how he looked as a potential inside option at guard and liked what they saw from him as an aggressive competitor.

"I was just really impressed with his competitiveness in the practices," DeCosta said. "A lot of times, some players go down [to the Senior Bowl], and they sort of treat it as a fun week. And with Emery, in the one-on-ones, this guy was fighting and battling in all the competitive periods. He really showed a lot of effort and tenacity, and it just seemed like watching him, John [Harbaugh] would say [that] he's kind of a 'Ravens type' of player. His attitude, his demeanor, his explosion, physicality. He's the guy that, when we left, I just thought, 'You know what? This guy would have a chance of being pretty good for us.'"

Unless Jones Jr. makes a seamless transition to playing guard and shows enough to warrant consideration for one of the two starting spots, he likely won't see much action as a rookie outside of field goal units, cleanup duty in blowouts, as an extra blocker in jumbo packages or in case of an injury or two to one of the starting tackles. After a year of development, he could earn one of the starting guard spots in his second season if he doesn't emerge at some point in his first.