J.k. Dobbins - Pro Football Rumors

AFC Notes: Ravens, Patriots, Rivers

May 12th, 2020 at 9:53am CST by Ben Levine

After the Ravens added Ohio State’s J.K. Dobbins in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft, Mark Ingram believes his team officially has the best running game in the league.

“I like his mindset, I like his attitude, I like the way he run the ball. Just bring him and his talents to our room that’s already special; our backfield is gonna be the best in the league for sure,” Ingram told NFL Network’s Colleen Wolfe (via NFL.com’s Grant Gordon). “We’re all looking forward to it, being playmakers for the team and help us win the championship.”

Last season, Ingram and quarterback Lamar Jackson became just the second RB-QB duo to top 1,000 rushing yards in the same season (Warrick Dunn and Michael Vick did it with the Falcons in 2006). Gus Edwards also had a productive season in Baltimore, running for 711 yards and two scores. Even Justice Hill found the end zone twice as a rookie.

While the backfield may be a bit crowded, it doesn’t sound like Ingram is too concerned about carries. Rather, the veteran is focused on winning a championship, and he passed that mindset on to his rookie teammate.

“He reached out to me,” Ingram said. “Right after he got drafted, just shot me his number, said he was looking forward to getting to work. I told him let’s go get a ring.”

Let’s check out some more notes from around the AFC…

Sticking with Baltimore, Ravens GM Eric DeCosta told season ticket holders that the team doesn’t have a whole lot of salary cap flexibility (via The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec on Twitter). DeCosta noted that if the front office did open up space, they’d likely pursue a pass rusher/linebacker or a veteran offensive lineman.
Reports yesterday indicated that Tom Brady‘s “deteriorating relationship” with Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels was a big reason why the quarterback left New England. However, Brady vehemently denied those rumors via Instagram, asking reporters to “[p]lease be more responsible with reporting” (via Charean Williams of ProFootballTalk.com). McDaniels and Brady had been paired together for more than a decade, winning six Super Bowls along the way.
In 2019, Philip Rivers was playing behind a Chargers offensive line that ranked 29th in effectiveness, per Pro Football Focus. In Indy, he’ll be playing behind an offensive line that was ranked third by the same metric, and that’s a big reason why the veteran decided to join the Colts. “The big part of Philip being here is Anthony Castonzo. Quenton Nelson,” said offensive coordinator Nick Sirianni (via NFL.com’s Nick Shook). “Ryan Kelly. Braden Smith. Mark Glowinski. Those guys are studs…That’s something that he just kept mentioning after we signed him of how valuable those guys were to him.”

Ravens Sign Second-Round RB J.K. Dobbins

May 7th, 2020 at 6:15pm CST by Zachary Links

The Ravens have officially signed second-round running back J.K. Dobbins, per a club announcement. In addition to the Ohio State product, the Ravens also announced the signing of seventh-round safety Geno Stone. With those two in the fold, the Ravens have just four unsigned rookies left, including first-round pick Patrick Queen.

Dobbins was viewed as one of the best pure runners in this year’s class, but he saw four other running backs – Clyde Edwards-Helaire (Chiefs), D’Andre Swift (Lions), Jonathan Taylor (Colts), and Cam Akers (Florida State) come off the board before him. That fall might have bruised his ego, but the Ravens were happy to scoop him up at No. 55 overall.

Dobbins posted three straight 1,000-yard seasons at Ohio State and the Ravens believe that he can anchor the running game behind Lamar Jackson. Last year, he topped 2,000 yards with 23 total touchdowns. This year, he’ll fight for carries alongside Mark Ingram, Gus Edwards, and Justice Hill.

Per the terms of his slot, Dobbins will earn $5.7MM over the course of his four-year rookie deal. That pact includes a $1.7MM signing bonus and a low cap figure of $1.04MM for 2020.

Here’s the full rundown of the Ravens’ class, where Queen, Duvernay, Harrison, and Phillips stand as the only unsigned rookies:

1-28: Patrick Queen, LB (LSU)
2-55: J.K. Dobbins, RB (Ohio State): Signed
3-71: Justin Madubuike, DT (Texas A&M): Signed
3-92: Devin Duvernay, WR (Texas)
3-98: Malik Harrison, LB (Ohio State)
3-106: Tyre Phillips, OL (Mississippi State)
4-143: Ben Bredeson, G (Michigan): Signed
5-170: Broderick Washington Jr., DT (Texas Tech): Signed
6-201: James Proche, WR (SMU): Signed
7-219: Geno Stone, S (Iowa): Signed

Ravens Draft RB J.K. Dobbins

April 24th, 2020 at 8:00pm CST by Zachary Links

The Ravens’ running back room just got even more crowded. With the No. 55 overall pick, the Ravens snagged Ohio State standout J.K. Dobbins.

Dobbins was viewed as one of the best pure runners in this year’s class. He doesn’t have the best hands in this year’s crop, but his feet mostly make up for it.

Dobbins posted three straight 1,000-yard seasons at Ohio State and the Ravens believe that he can anchor the running game behind Lamar Jackson. Last year, he topped 2,000 yards (yes you read that right) with 23 total touchdowns. One year ago, some saw Dobbins as the best RB in this year’s class. He was leapfrogged by the likes of Georgia’s D’Andre Swift over time, but he still figures to have a bright NFL future, especially in Baltimore’s dynamite offense.

The rookie will fight for carries this year alongside Mark Ingram, Gus Edwards, and Justice Hill.

Draft Rumors: Henderson, Dobbins, Davis

April 17th, 2020 at 10:43am CST by Dallas Robinson

Are you ready for surprises on draft day? It sounds like you should be. “The media is wronger about mock drafts this year than you guys have ever been,” one NFL general manager told Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). That’s undoubtedly because of the ongoing certainly involving COVID-19, which has caused the league to upend its predraft process. As Daniel Jeremiah of NFL.com tweets, “group think” is less likely to occur in 2019 because scouts and executives were unable to congregate at pro days, events where evaluators typically will — intentionally or not — develop something of a consensus on prospects.

After deciding whether “wronger” is actually a word, let’s take a look at more on the upcoming draft:

The Falcons held a predraft video meeting with Florida cornerback C.J. Henderson last week, according to Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Atlanta currently holds the 16th overall pick, but recent reports have indicated general manager Thomas Dimitroff & Co. could be interested in moving up the board. Henderson is considered the draft’s second-best cornerback behind Ohio State’s Jeffrey Okudah, although some decision-makers may rate Henderson No. 1.
Ohio State running back J.K. Dobbins has held video meetings with several NFL teams, including the Chiefs, Packers, Bills, Lions, Saints, Dolphins, reports Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. This isn’t the first time Dobbins has been linked to Miami, as he took a predraft visit with the Dolphins before such meetings were shut down due to COVID-19. Indeed, Dobbins left that visit feeling Miami was “infatuated” with him.
Alabama defensive tackle Raekwon Davis says the 49ers, Packers, Dolphins, Ravens, and Eagles are the teams that have contacted him most, as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes. A massive presence at 6’6″, 310 pounds, Davis a first-round projection and comparisons to DeForest Buckner from NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein. Mike Renner of Pro Football Focus, however, ranks Davis just 10th among interior defender prospects, noting his lack of development as a pass-rusher.
The Ravens, 49ers, Panthers, Titans, and Seahawks have all held video sessions with TCU defensive tackle Ross Blacklock, per Wilson. Blacklock, who stock has risen during the predraft process, missed the 2018 campaign with an Achilles injury but was productive during both his freshman and junior seasons. Last year, he posted 40 tackles (nine for loss) and 3.5 sacks.

Dolphins Eyeing RBs In NFL Draft

April 12th, 2020 at 4:40pm CST by Zachary Links

The Dolphins’ recent track record on early-round running backs leaves much to be desired. Since 2000, the Dolphins have selected just two running backs in the first two rounds. Neither one panned out – they picked Ronnie Brown in 2005 when Aaron Rodgers was still available and went with Daniel Thomas over DeMarco Murray in 2011. This year, the Dolphins may look to buck the trend.

The Dolphins are likely to select a running back in the first two days of the draft, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes. That may include their No. 26 pick towards the back of the first round or the No. 56 pick in the second.

One team official has been telling people that Georgia’s D’Andre Swift is high on their list. And, per a source who spoke with Jackson, he was set to visit in Miami before the league put the kibosh on travel. Ohio State’s J.K. Dobbins left his visit (pre-kibosh) feeling like the Dolphins were infatuated with him. There’s also Wisconsin’s Jonathan Taylor, who went to dinner with RB coach Eric Studesville. Plus, they’ve been in contact with FSU’s Cam Akers. Dobbins and Swift could be in the mix at No. 26, Jackson hears, while Taylor, Akers, and LSU’s Clyde Edwards-Helaire seem to be candidates at No. 56.

If the Dolphins want Swift or Dobbins, they’ll probably have to pounce on them in the first round. Swift has been on the NFL radar since his freshman season, when he averaged 7.6 yards per carry. The noise around him is still substantial after he ran for 1,218 yards and seven touchdowns. Dobbins, meanwhile, is coming off of a 2,000-yard campaign, his third straight season past the century mark.

Dolphins Hosting RB J.K. Dobbins On Visit

March 13th, 2020 at 10:00am CST by Sam Robinson

While the COVID-19 virus has wreaked havoc across the American sports world, some NFL teams are still conducting visits. The Dolphins are one of them, and they did some rescheduling to make sure they could meet with Ohio State’s J.K. Dobbins.

Dobbins is at the Dolphins’ facility on Friday for a pre-draft visit, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). The former Buckeyes standout was not supposed to visit the Dolphins until mid-April, but Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald notes (via Twitter) the team is high enough on Dobbins they moved up his meeting by around a month in the event the NFL cancels pre-draft visits because of coronavirus.

Although Rapoport notes Miami is proceeding with “extreme caution,” it would not be a surprise to see the league nix pre-draft summits considering the actions taken by the sports leagues currently in-season. Dobbins also did not fly to this workout, with Rapoport adding the running back has been training in south Florida (Twitter link).

Miami will enter free agency with a bevy of needs; one of them is clearly at running back. The Dolphins traded Kenyan Drake last season and subsequently released Mark Walton after yet another arrest. No obvious starter resides on Miami’s roster, so the Dolphins should be expected to acquire at least one starting-caliber back this offseason.

Dobbins would profile as such. He posted three straight 1,000-yard seasons at Ohio State. In 2019, he eclipsed 2,000 yards and totaled 23 touchdowns. Dobbins ranks as the No. 40 overall prospect, per NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah, who tabs him as this draft class’ No. 4-ranked running back.

J.K. Dobbins Enters NFL Draft

December 30th, 2019 at 5:30pm CST by Zachary Links

J.K. Dobbins is going pro. On Monday, the Ohio State running back announced that he’ll forego his final year of eligibility to enter the NFL draft.

With that, the already deep 2020 running back crop has become even more stacked. This year, Dobbins became the school’s first player to break 2,000 yards in a single season, topping Eddie George’s single-season rushing record. Before that, he eclipsed 1,000 yards rushing in each of his previous campaigns.

Dobbins is no stranger to the limelight, either. He was a four-star prospect combing out of La Grange High School, despite missing most of his senior season with an ankle injury. Dobbins, who offers serious power at 5’10” (or, perhaps, 5’9″), is true stud and profiles as a strong first-round candidate for April.

Other top running backs in the 2020 NFL Draft class include Georgia’s D’Andre Swift, Wisconsin’s Jonathan Taylor, Clemson’s Travis Etienne, Alabama’s Najee Harris, and Oklahoma State’s Chuba Hubbard.