Ravens foresee a ‘3-headed monster’ at running back moving forward

Following the return of Keaton Mitchell, Baltimore boasts arguably the best backfield in the league.

The Baltimore Ravens could already stake their claim to having one of the best running back tandems in the NFL with leading rusher Derrick Henry and veteran third-down specialist and pass-catching weapon Justice Hill highlighting the backfield of the most dangerous offense in the league.

Both players are having sensational seasons with Henry making history and climbing up an all-time list with seemingly every game he plays and Hill having already surpassed his single-season career high in receiving yards (272), touchdowns (two) and yards per catch (10.1). Through the Ravens’ first nine games, Henry and Hill have taken all but three snaps at their position but that wasn’t the case last week against the team’s win over the Cincinnati Bengals and won’t be moving forward following the return of Keaton Mitchell.

The second-year pro was officially activated from the physically unable to perform list ahead of last week’s game and saw a combined nine total snaps with just two coming on offense and the other seven on special teams. Mitchell made the initial 53-man roster as an undrafted rookie out of East Carolina University in 2023 and after a brief stint on injured reserve to open the season, he established himself as one of the most explosive weapons in the league for a stretch before suffering a season-ending knee injury last December.

Given the nature of his injury, the time of year it took place and the fact that the running game was in great hands and still leading the way for the NFL’s top rushing attack, the Ravens could afford to be overcautious with Mitchell’s recovery process. Ahead of last week’s game, head coach John Harbaugh told reporters that he would see the field “when he’s ready to go and can compete and protect himself and all those different things.” Now that Mitchell has gotten his feet wet for the first time, his coach is envisioning greater success for the backfield as a whole moving forward the more he gets acclimated.

“We’ll start working him into the offense as well,” Harbaugh said. “I do see a little bit of a three-headed monster there, potentially. We’ll see where that goes over the next course of games and hopefully that’s something that will start to develop for us.”

As a rookie, Mitchell appeared in eight games and recorded 396 rushing yards on 47 carries for a gaudy average of 8.4 yards per attempt and scored a pair of touchdowns. He also caught nine of his 11 targets for 93 yards and averaged 10.3 yards per catch. His contact balance, footwork and vision were just as impressive as his blazing 4.37 speed as he was a big play waiting to happen any time he touched the ball and had a streak of six straight games with at least one play from scrimmage of 20-plus yards including in the game he got hurt.

Since there is only one ball to go around on offense and a litany of weapons at quarterback Lamar Jackson’s disposal at the offensive skill positions between tight end, wide receiver and their veteran running backs, the Ravens are open to expanding Mitchell’s role to include as a returner on special teams. That’s where he predominantly played in his first game back and made his biggest impact when he ripped off a 30-yard return on the Bengals’ fourth kickoff of the game to set his offense up at the Baltimore 28-yard line.

Given the schematic structure of the new dynamic kickoff the NFL adopted from the XFL, which resembles traditional running plays more than returns, having an explosive ball carrier accustomed to making sharp cuts and accelerating upfield can lead to bigger turns when given a chance. Even if Mitchell only averages a handful of touches moving forward, his all-purpose yards could be a stat worth monitoring.

“Keaton is a really good football player, so in that role as a running back, that’s got some special teams elements to it, for sure,” Harbaugh said. “I like the ball in his hands, so we had him back there in kickoff return.”