J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards are expected to resume their spots atop the Ravens’ depth chart at running back after missing the 2021 season with knee injuries.
However, there will be a fierce battle for that third spot with Justice Hill, Mike Davis, Nate McCrary and sixth-round pick Tyler Badie vying for a roster spot.
Both Badie and Davis have begun to separate themselves with solid offseason workouts that caught the eye of coach John Harbaugh.
“[I’m] very positive about Mike Davis,” Harbaugh said. “He shows up as a veteran running back. [He’s] quick, has really good vision, and he’s always been a good receiving running back, but when you see it in person, it kind of opens your eyes. I’ll say, Tyler Badie, too, is a receiving running back. These guys kind of jumped out that way in these camps.”
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Davis ran for 503 yards on 138 carries with three touchdowns with the Atlanta Falcons last season. He also caught 44 passes for 259 yards and one touchdown.
Over his eight-year career, Davis, who was picked by the 49ers in the fourth round in the 2015 draft, has 550 carries for 2,034 yards and 14 touchdowns between the Carolina Panthers, Seattle Seahawks, San Francisco 49ers, Chicago Bears, and Falcons.
Davis is a big, physical running back that likes to barrel downhill and that fits perfectly into Greg Roman’s system.
Badie, 5-foot-8, 190 pounds, set the Missouri single-season rushing yards record with 1,604. Badie scored 14 rushing touchdowns on 268 carries. He caught a team-high 54 passes for 330 yards and four scores. His 18 total touchdowns were also a team-high.
Badie is reminiscent of former running back Ray Rice because of his size and shiftiness. The Ravens are also more committed to throwing the ball out of the backfield to the running backs and Badie could be a force in that role.
The Ravens could try to place him on the practice squad but he would likely be picked up by another team.
Hill was selected by the Ravens in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft, but he has never found a consistent role with the offense. He spent the entire 2021 season on IR with an injured Achilles.
Hill has an advantage for a roster spot because of his ability to play special teams, but his future is murky at this point.
The main key is for Dobbins and Edwards to come back healthy because the running attack was inconsistent without them in the lineup last season.
In 2020, Dobbins led the Ravens’ running backs with 805 yards on 134 carries with nine touchdowns. He also recorded a rushing score in seven consecutive games, which tied for the second-longest streak by a rookie in NFL history.
Edwards suffered a season-ending knee injury in the last week of the preseason. In 2020, Edwards was third on the team with 723 yards on 144 carries with six touchdowns. He was poised to play an even bigger role last season before the injury.
Harbaugh is cautiously optimistic they will be key contributors this season.
“I’d say they’re all on schedule, but what is the schedule? The knee injuries are a little tougher to say what the schedule really is, “Harbaugh said. “So, [if] you talk to J.K, he’s the starting running back today, [and] he should have been practicing today, but he’s got work to do still, [and] so does Gus. But they’re both doing great. We’ll see how they look when they come back and all that.”
