The Ravens are among several teams showing interest in the underrated playmaker who can be a factor in the passing game.
Even after adding four-time Pro Bowler and two-time league rushing champion Derrick Henry during the initial wave of free agency, Baltimore Ravens General Manager Eric DeCosta said they will continue to “assess the market” as they have always done and look to the NFL draft to further bolster their backfield.
Come late April, a prospect to keep an eye on who they might target in the 2024 NFL Draft is former Marshall University standout running back Rasheen Ali. The former member of the Thundering Herd wasn’t able to take part in the NFL Scouting Combine or his pro day due to a biceps injury, but according to a report from The Athletic’s Dane Brugler, the Ravens are among the eight teams who are slated to host him for a top 30 pre-draft visit.
A RB prospect not getting enough buzz is Rasheen Ali from Marshall. Bicep injury in January so no testing at Combine or pro day (expected to be cleared in July).
Ali has team “30 visits” set up with the Chiefs, Cowboys, Falcons, Ravens and Titans. pic.twitter.com/zfS2lMOGEI
— Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) March 26, 2024
This year’s draft class lacks star power at the running back position and likely won’t see one taken in the first two rounds in the eyes of most pundits. However, what it lacks in top-end talent it makes up for with a bevy of intriguing depth options who can fill certain roles and round out a team’s backfield.
Ali is a prime example of one of those prospects with how he could complement Henry and has a similar build and playing style to Justice Hill. With 2023 undrafted gem Keaton Mitchell recovering from a torn ACL he suffered in December, the Ravens need another depth piece in the backfield and Hill is only under contract for one more season.
In two of the last three seasons, Ali eclipsed 1,100 rushing yards, 1,300 yards from scrimmage and scored 15 or more touchdowns. In his breakout season in 2021, he led the nation in rushing touchdowns with 23 and recorded 334 receiving yards to bring his scrimmage total to 1,735 yards. He is an agile one-cut runner with good vision, patience, and burst to find and explode through a hole or cutback lane for a big gain or house call. A leg injury limited him to just three games in 2022 but he bounced back with another explosive senior season in 2023.
Rasheen Ali with a 56-yard TD run for #Marshall:#TheHerd lead 14-10.
— Lincoln Heimbach (@LincHeimbachTSP) September 23, 2023
Other running back prospects whom the Ravens have shown interest in during the pre-draft cycle include Notre Dame’s Audric Estime, who they reportedly met with at the combine, and Louisville’s Isaac Guerendo, who they met with at the East-West Shrine Bowl.