This week's flyer I took in my dynasty league is Ravens' running back Rasheen Ali (pictured). The fifth-rounder out of Marshall tore his bicep at the Senior Bowl, a factor in him falling to Day 3 of the draft. There's a lot to like, though, both player and landing spot.
Ali looks big enough to take on a sizable role in a backfield; he measured 5-foot-11 and 206 pounds at the combine. Didn't work out due to the injury, but chipped in some big plays across his college career. Averaged 5.4-5.6 yards per carry in his two seasons as a starter, and was very productive in the passing game. He caught 73 balls for 547 yards in those years, and totaled 40 touchdowns.
Baltimore hasn't made great use of running backs in the passing game, but there could be more of that this year, the second-year post Greg Roman. Last year rookie Keaton Mitchell chipped in some longer plays as a change-of-pace, but Mitchell tore his ACL in mid-December, so he's no lock to be ready for the start of the season. Ali has the biceps injury to return from, but John Harbaugh says he'll be "more than ready for training camp." Sounds like he might be practicing sooner than Mitchell. Derrick Henry will be the featured guy, but it's possible Ali will only need to beat out Justice Hill for the No. 2 job initially, which is definitely doable.
The Ravens have typically employed a committee backfield, and they run the ball well enough that there are multiple viable players (if not stars). Over the past seven years, they've had only one top-10 running back in PPR leagues. But they've had 10 at least make it into the top 45 at the position, and seven in the top 40, which is usable production in most leagues (and with stretches of solid numbers).
To be clear, we're not talking about 2024 league-winners here. Even if Ali emerges as Baltimore's No. 2, you're maybe getting a functional spot-starter in bye weeks this season. Maybe. But realistically, Henry is a one- or maybe two-year guy atop this backfield. As soon as next year, we could be looking at a one-two punch of Mitchell-Ali powering one of the league' best running games. That makes him worth considering in dynasty, if not running to the podium for.
Table shows Baltimore's top-2 running backs in each of the last seven years. I put the top 40 guys in bold.
| BALTIMORE'S TOP-2 RUNNING BACKS, 2017-2023 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | Run | No | Rec | TD | Rk |
| 2023 | Gus Edwards | 810 | 12 | 180 | 13 | 26 |
| 2023 | Justice Hill | 387 | 28 | 206 | 4 | 44 |
| 2022 | Kenyan Drake | 482 | 17 | 89 | 5 | 45 |
| 2022 | J.K. Dobbins | 520 | 7 | 42 | 3 | 57 |
| 2021 | Devonta Freeman | 576 | 34 | 190 | 6 | 32 |
| 2021 | Latavius Murray | 501 | 10 | 75 | 6 | 54 |
| 2020 | J.K. Dobbins | 805 | 18 | 120 | 9 | 24 |
| 2020 | Gus Edwards | 723 | 9 | 129 | 6 | 37 |
| 2019 | Mark Ingram | 1018 | 26 | 247 | 15 | 10 |
| 2019 | Gus Edwards | 711 | 7 | 45 | 2 | 51 |
| 2018 | Alex Collins | 411 | 15 | 105 | 8 | 44 |
| 2018 | Javorius Allen | 110 | 35 | 196 | 5 | 53 |
| 2017 | Alex Collins | 973 | 23 | 187 | 6 | 19 |
| 2017 | Javorius Allen | 591 | 46 | 250 | 6 | 24 |
--Andy Richardson