Can Rasheen Ali overtake Keaton Mitchell for the Ravens' third running back spot?
It is entirely up to you how much stock you should, or should not, put into an early preseason depth chart. After all, when he was head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, Chip Kelly famously said he had his Media Relations person, instead of a member of the coaching staff, make it for him.
All the current Baltimore Ravens depth charts tell the same story at the running back position. Whether it's the team's official depth chart, the version at ESPN, or the edition at Our Lads. Derrick Henry is The King, and thus tops the chart. Justice Hill is a well-recognized, highly compensated (deservedly so) backup.
Third-year star Keaton Mitchell is the number three, while Rasheen Ali is the fourth string. On a run-centric team like the Ravens, even the third-string back will see some significant playing time. In a run-heavy offense like this, even the fourth-string guy will eventually get a few carries.
However, on NFL rosters, there can be a considerable gap between the third and fourth string running back when it comes to the greater role within the team. It's the difference between being a part of the offense, the practice squad, or special teams.
Ali, a 5th-round pick out of Marshall in 2024, had just 10 carries for 31 yards last season. He had nine carries for 37 yards, including a touchdown, on Thursday night in the 24-16 preseason opening win over the Indianapolis Colts.
Mitchell had nine for 68 yards and a touchdown as well. Of course, one should never read too much into a preseason box score.
D'Ernest Johnson had twice as many carries as both Ali and Mitchell, but the Ravens don't even bother including him on their depth chart.
Mitchell earned the FedEx Ground Player of the Week Award for week nine of the 2023 season, when he carried nine times for 138 yards and a touchdown. However, in week 15, he tore his ACL, and we don't know if he'll play with the same burst as before the injury.
Residing on the PUP list until week 10 last season, Mitchell had just 15 carries for the entirety of the 2024 season. Meanwhile, Ali has only a small body of NFL work at this point. We have question marks about him as well.
But this is why we pay attention to preseason games- for the positional battles. It's not about the results.
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