It is believed that Ravens second-year running back J.K. Dobbins suffered a season-ending knee injury during last night’s preseason matchup against Washington, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com adds that an ACL tear is the expected diagnosis. Dobbins is presently undergoing an MRI to confirm (Twitter link).
This is, of course, a devastating blow to Baltimore’s offense. Although the Ravens made several high-profile additions to their WR corps this offseason, their attack was still going to be predicated on a fearsome ground game spearheaded by Dobbins, fellow RB Gus Edwards, and quarterback Lamar Jackson. Now, Edwards suddenly finds himself atop the depth chart, with third-year scat-back Justice Hill and 2020 UDFA Ty’Son Williams — who has played well this preseason — behind him.
Dobbins, a first-round talent whom the Ravens snapped up with the No. 55 overall pick in the 2020 draft, was gradually eased into professional action. He did not receive double-digit rushing attempts in a game until Week 8 last year, but once he became a featured piece of the team’s offense, he was tremendous. He finished the season with 134 carries for 805 yards, good for an excellent 6.0 yards-per-carry average, and he added nine rushing TDs.
It will be next to impossible to replace the production that the Ravens expected to get out of Dobbins this year. Edwards has been a strong performer in his own right, as he boasts a 5.2 YPC average over three years in Baltimore. However, he is not the receiving threat that Dobbins was projected to be, and his success has generally come as a complementary piece, not as a feature back. He is a former UDFA himself, so maybe the Ravens can spin more hay into gold with Williams or 2021 college free agent Nate McCrary.
If the organization looks for external options, Todd Gurley could be a target. Gurley visited the Ravens back in June, and he remains unsigned. Knee injuries have derailed his career, and though he managed to play 15 games in each of the past two seasons, he could not reach the 4.0 YPC threshold in either year. Still, if he were to be deployed as part of a timeshare with Edwards and Hill/Williams/McCrary, he may be more effective.
Speculatively, a player like the Colts’ Marlon Mack could also be an option. Mack suffered a torn Achilles in Week 1 of the 2020 season, but he eclipsed 1,000 yards rushing in 2019 and came close to doing so in 2018, despite playing in only 12 games that year. The injury depressed his market this offseason, and he re-upped with Indy on a one-year, $2MM pact. The Colts, however, have Jonathan Taylor entrenched as their RB1, and they are also rostering Nyheim Hines and Jordan Wilkins. If GM Chris Ballard feels he has enough depth there, perhaps he and Ravens GM Eric DeCosta could swing a deal.
