Ravens 2023 position review: Running Backs

Breaking down how each of the team’s position groups performed this past season.

The 2023 season is in the books and the offseason is officially underway for all 32 teams around the league. Before completely turning the page toward free agency and the 2024 NFL Draft, taking time to assess the performances of each position group on the Baltimore Ravens is a useful exercise in determining what went right or wrong, and where to go from here.

In this article series, I’ll break down how each player at every position fared this past year and their 2024 outlook. Up next is the one that was hit hard by injuries but still managed to produce at a high level collectively for the league top-ranked rushing attack, the running backs.

Gus Edwards

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The six-year veteran finally shook the injury bug that cost him the entire 2021 season and parts of 2022 and had the most productive season of his career to date. Edwards continued to prove that he is one of the best short-yardage and goal-line ball carriers in the league with career-high and team-leading totals in rushing touchdowns (13) and rushing first downs (49). He stayed healthy the whole year, appearing all 17 regular season games and making nine starts, and finished with the second-most rushing yards on the team with a career-high 810. The former undrafted gem also showed off his skills as a pass catcher, recording career-highs in receptions (12), receiving yards (180), and yards per catch (15).

Even though Edwards and the Ravens didn’t agree to terms before this past Monday’s deadline to extend players with void years on their 2023 deals, there’s still a chance that he could end up getting brought back if there is mutual interest. He took a pay cut to remain with the team last offseason and given the continued devaluation of the veteran running back market, it likely wouldn’t be for a substantial amount of compensation.

Keaton Mitchell

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The 2023 undrafted rookie earned a spot on the initial 53-man roster after standing out in training camp and the preseason but his regular season debut was delayed by four games after he opened the year on injured reserve as a result of shoulder injury. Mitchell played mainly on special teams in his first two games, playing just two snaps on offense but in Week 9, he burst on the scene with an incredible breakout performance where he recorded a career-high 138 rushing yards and a touchdown on just nine carries including longs on 40 and 60 yards.

From that point on, he established himself as the Ravens’ most explosive offensive weapon, recording one or more plays from scrimmage of 20-plus yards in six straight games until he suffered a season-ending torn ACL in Week 15. In eight games including two starts, Mitchell recorded 47 carries for 396 rushing yards and two touchdowns and caught 9-of-11 targets for 93 receiving yards.

Given that he suffered his injury so late in his rookie season, his availability for the start of the 2024 season might be uncertain. Even if he is ready to return to action by the season opener, the Ravens might take a cautious approach and gradually increase his workload as the year goes on. The most likely scenario is that they start Mitchell off on a snap count and carve him out a more featured role in the offense in the second half of the season, especially down the stretch.

Justice Hill

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The five-year veteran wound up being the unheralded hero of the position group and arguably the entire offense by the end of the season with his contributions as a ball carrier, pass protector and pass catcher out of the backfield. Hill set career highs across the board including carries (84), rushing yards (387), rushing touchdowns (three), targets (39), receptions (28), receiving yards (206), and his first career receiving touchdown. He appeared in 16 regular season games, making a career-high five starts, and started both playoff games as well in which he recorded 16 carries for 69 rushing yards and caught 6-of-9 targets for 45 receiving yards.

Hill is the only other running back the Ravens have under contract through next season after he re-signed with the team last offseason to a two-year deal. Given his ability to impact the game as the primary third-down option at the position and the fact that he is the most likely next starting kick returner with two-time Pro Bowler Devin Duvernay slated to be a free agent, the 26-year-old is quite the bargain for just $2.97 million in 2024.

Melvin Gordon

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The former two-time Pro Bowler first joined the Ravens at the onset of training camp in the midst of a potential hold-in by their projected starter. He got beat out for the fourth and final spot on the initial 53-man roster by Mitchell but came back on the practice squad. Gordon appeared in four games during which he recorded 81 rushing yards and a touchdown on 26 carries and hauled in all three of his targets for 46 receiving yards.

Neither side will likely be in a rush to run it back in 2024 as the Ravens will try to reinforce the position through the draft or undrafted free agency. Gordon might remain on their short list of emergency veteran options when it gets to training camp if they suffer any injuries or as a member of the practice squad again.

Dalvin Cook

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The four-time Pro Bowler joined the team the week of the regular season finale and didn’t take his first snap in a game until the postseason. However, he showed more flashes of his former glory in limited touches than he did during his lackluster tenure with the New York Jets who released him just days before he signed to the Ravens practice squad. In the team’s Divisional Round win over the Houston Texans, he ripped off 19 yards on one of his eight carries and while he only finished with 23 yard for the game, poor blocking resulting in some of his negative plays.

The odds of Cook being brought back to the Ravens are very slim unless he is willing to play for at or around the veteran minimum and the team wants another veteran presence aside from Hill. While the 28-year-old might still have some juice left in the tank, he will likely be sitting on the open market until the second or third wave of free agency and might even wait to see if a team loses a starter in training camp.

J.K. Dobbins

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The four-year veteran was finally slated to have a featured role in the offense that he had been clamoring for in 2023 but his projected breakout campaign was cut short before it could get off the ground. After recording 37 yards from scrimmage and scoring a touchdown on 10 touches, he suffered a torn Achilles and would miss the remainder of the season.

It marked the second major injury that the former second-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft suffered since coming into the league which has caused him to miss 44 games dating back to 2021 when he suffered a torn ACL in the preseason. Dobbins’ time in Baltimore has likely come to an end as he will likely look for a fresh start and change of scenery on an incentive-laden one-year prove-it-type deal elsewhere while the Ravens already have a talented back recovering from a major injury and will want to try to continue to get more durable, younger, and inexpensive at the position moving forward.