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The Baltimore Ravens selected Missouri edge rusher Zion Young in the second round with the 45th pick of the 2026 NFL Draft.
Young spent two seasons as a starter at Michigan State before transferring to Missouri and starting during the 2024 and 2025 seasons. The 6-foot-5, 267-pound Atlanta native earned first-team All-SEC honors last season after recording 6.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and two pass deflections as a senior. He showed steady improvement in each of his four years at the college level and last season finished second in the SEC in tackles for loss (16.5) and No. 3 in pressures (53).
With a lifelong love of the weight room and a good core of swipes, chops and bull rushes, Young offers a physical presence on both the interior and edge. His coaches have praised his locker room leadership and energy level, which one NFL scout called “limitless.”
The main concern could be Young’s behavior off the field. He was one of seven Michigan State players suspended and charged with assault in 2023 following a postgame altercation at Michigan. Young pleaded guilty to misdemeanor aggravated assault and received probation. Last December, he was arrested and charged with suspicion of DWI, speeding and failing to properly affix his license plate.
‘The Beast’ breakdown
Young ranked No. 37 in Dane Brugler’s top 300 big board. Here’s what Brugler had to say about him in his annual NFL Draft guide:
“Young is a tad rigid as a pass rusher and doesn’t have ideal cornering speed, but he is long, strong and determined with hand usage to force his way through blockers. As a run defender, his play recognition and full-extension physicality blossomed as a senior.
“Young doesn’t have the pass-rush quickness or diversity that will scare NFL offensive tackles, but he sets a firm edge in the run game and uses his NFL-caliber measurables and heavy hands to open pathways to the pocket. He has the floor of a quality backup and the ceiling of a starting base end for a physical NFL front.”
Scott Dochterman grades the pick
Baltimore addressed its porous pass rush (30 sacks last year) by signing Trey Hendrickson this offseason. Now the Ravens will pair him with one of college football’s top pass rushers. One of the most destructive defenders in the SEC, Young (6-5 3/4, 262 pounds) had 16.5 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks for the Tigers. Not to get too hyperbolic, but there are some physical commonalities between Young and Ravens legend Terrell Suggs. Grade: A
How he fits
Young doesn’t have explosive pass-rushing traits, but he has a skill set that should translate well to the NFL and allow him to get on the field immediately. First-year Ravens defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver loves to say that you have to earn the right to rush the quarterback by first stopping the run. Young is a physical edge setter who can physically overmatch tight ends and hold his ground against tackles. He also plays with a great mix of power and energy, and that should result in some impact as a pass rusher.
Depth-chart impact
The Ravens’ edge-rush room suddenly looks pretty crowded. Their big free-agent addition, Hendrickson, will be on one edge. The options for the other edge include Mike Green, a second-round pick last year who had 3.5 sacks as a rookie; Tavius Robinson, who had 4.5 sacks and 10 quarterback hits in 10 games last year; and now Young. Robinson will likely be used on early downs due to his edge-setting ability. The odd man out here is potentially Adisa Isaac, a 2024 third-round pick who has played in just four games in two seasons and is still looking for his first NFL sack.
They also could have picked ….
When Ohio State’s Kayden McDonald and Georgia’s Christen Miller went early in the second round, that all but eliminated the option of the Ravens selecting an interior defensive lineman. They had other solid options, including Georgia inside linebacker CJ Allen, Clemson cornerback Avieon Terrell and Vanderbilt tight end Eli Stowers. However, the Ravens opted for the pass rusher.
Fast evaluation
General manager Eric DeCosta’s two roster priorities this offseason were solidifying the offensive line and adding juice to the pass rush. On the first two days of the draft, he’s addressed both areas. Young doesn’t project as a high-impact pass rusher, but he’ll help in that area while doing a lot of other dirty work to free up teammates. You could have made a case DeCosta should have taken a pass catcher or an interior defensive lineman, but the Ravens wanted to add an edge rusher at some point, and this was a good spot to do it.
