Ravens should not add a rookie running back until Day 3 of the draft at the earliest
The team has proven they can find talent in the later rounds and absolute gems in undrafted free agency.
The Baltimore Ravens currently have just two running backs under contract slated to return for the 2024 season—Justice Hill and Keaton Mitchell—and one of them is recovering from a torn ACL suffered in mid-December of the 2023 season.
General Manager Eric DeCosta will likely add between two to three players at the position who stand a chance of making the roster between now and the start of training camp.
There are multiple tiers of free agents to choose from including bringing back either J.K. Dobbins or Gus Edwards, taking a big swing on a notable name such as Saquon Barkley or Derrick Henry, and moderately affordable options such as D’Andre Swift or Zach Moss.
One avenue that the Ravens will definitely be looking to add more talent to their backfield is through the draft and undrafted free agency where they’ve had a rich history of finding talent and key rotational contributors.
With limited projected cap space when the new league year begins after placing the franchise tag on Pro Bowl defensive tackle Justin Madubuike, going the rookie route at running back is the most likely course DeCosta will take and the wisest allocation of the team’s finite resources.
While the Ravens have struck gold and hit some home runs when they’ve drafted players at the position in the first two days of the NFL Draft such as Jamal Lewis, Ray Rice, and Dobbins had he stayed healthy, they have also had tremendous success exhibiting patience and waiting until Day 3 or even after the draft concluded to address the position.
There have been several notable mid-to-later running backs and fullbacks who have carved out roles on offense and had success over the years. Chester Taylor (sixth round 2002) was a nice complement to Lewis before going onto have a nice career as a starter with Minnesota Vikings.
Le’Ron McClain (fourth-round 2007) ran for a career-high 902 yards and 10 touchdowns as an All-Pro fullback in 2008. Kyle Juszczyk (fourth-round 2013) made his first of eight straight Pro Bowls as a fullback with the Ravens in 2016.
Javorius ‘Buck’ Allen (fourth-round 2015) eclipsed 840 scrimmage yards twice in his four years with the team from 2015-18. Kenneth Dixon (fourth-round 2016) was a nice change of pace back when healthy in 2016 and 2018.
The most recent example is Hill (fourth-round 2019) who bided his time and worked his way up through special teams and was the unsung hero of the Ravens’ offense in many ways in 2023 which resulted in him setting new career highs across the board.
