OTL: Draft a Running Back, Sure, but Not in First Round

It’s that time of year again.

Exactly one calendar month away from the 2026 NFL Draft in Pittsburgh, mock draft season is officially upon us.

And with it comes the annual wave of first-round projections, ranging from obvious to outright questionable.

The Athletic’s latest mock draft leans toward the latter.

The subscription-based sports media outlet assembled a full panel of reporters and analysts on Thursday to project the outcome of the first round, a scenario that saw the Baltimore Ravens select Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love with the 14th overall pick in the draft.

On the surface, the selection doesn’t quite add up.

But a closer look at the projection highlights a potential team need that has largely gone overlooked amid the justified offseason focus on offensive line and pass rush.

Well-known Ravens beat reporter Jeff Zrebiec made the pick for The Athletic, citing Baltimore’s “best player available” mantra — a draft philosophy that netted them another Notre Dame standout in Kyle Hamilton back in 2022.

There is no question that Love, widely regarded as the top running back of the class, would make a significant impact in the Ravens’ new-look offense under new offensive coordinator Declan Doyle. He finished the past two seasons with 1,125 and 1,372 rushing yards, respectively, for the Fighting Irish.

Still, with one of the league’s premier ball carriers in Derrick Henry spearheading a stable backfield in Baltimore heading into the 2026 season, it is difficult to justify the team spending its most valuable draft pick in four years on a running back.

Other glaring holes, which include offensive guard opposite recently signed veteran John Simpson, pass rush and pass-catching depth, make the rationale for this selection even harder to defend.

As Zrebiec pointed out in his reasoning, however, the successor to King Henry is currently not on the roster.

Does that warrant the team selecting a running back over Penn State offensive guard Olavaivega Ioane or Arizona State wide receiver Jordyn Tyson should they be available? I’d argue not, but it stresses a team need that General Manager Eric DeCosta has to address very soon, possibly as early as this offseason.

Henry is entering his age 32 season in 2026. And, while he has maintained a high level of play thus far in his career, it is no secret that the face of the Ravens’ backfield is aging.

He is actually reaching the point in his career where, historically, most elite backs see a significant statistical setback. Just five running backs in the Super Bowl era have rushed for more than 1,000 yards in a season after turning 32, the last one being Ricky Williams for the Miami Dolphins in 2009.

The others include Hall of Famers Walter Payton (1985, 1986) and Emmitt Smith (2001), former All-Pro Ottis Anderson (1989), and 2000 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Mike Anderson (2005).

Payton remains the only one to reach 1,000 yards in a season at 33 years old.

Obviously, the intention here is not to write off Henry.

His size and strength make him very capable of becoming the sixth ever Super Bowl era running back to rush for 1,000 yards at 32 or older. He has rushed for 1,000 yards in four consecutive seasons, totaling 1,595 on 5.2 yards per carry last season. The year before that, his 30-year-old season, he accrued 1,921 rushing yards on 5.9 yards per attempt.

He’s doing historic things at his age.

Not to mention, Henry is a touchdown machine. His 16 rushing touchdowns in 2025 marked the eighth consecutive season that the former second-round pick has tallied double-digit touchdowns.

Henry can absolutely still be elite in the coming year; that is not the discrepancy here.

But, on Russell Street Report, the hard conversations need to be had, and Ravens fans need to ask themselves how much more is really left in the tank for the 32-year-old Henry.

He is also slated to hit the open market in 2028, when he will be 34 years old, so the expectation is that the Ravens have just two more seasons of Henry left should he continue his elite level of production.

The rest of Baltimore’s backfield also adds emphasis to the need for a future running back.

Many thought Henry’s successor would be former undrafted standout out of East Carolina, Keaton Mitchell, who had a career average of 6.3 yards per rush attempt in his three-year stint with the Ravens. That ship sailed, however, when the team declined his restricted free agent tender and he signed a two-year, $9.25 million contract with the Los Angeles Chargers, a move met with heavy criticism from the Flock.

Former fourth-round pick Justice Hill remains on the roster and, in past seasons, he has proven to be a valuable third down back with pass-catching upside. But, Hill suffered a neck injury during a practice last season, which could potentially jeopardize the future landscape of his football career.

Injuries aside, Hill is not a lead back.

Rasheen Ali rounds out the current state of Baltimore’s running back corps. A fifth-round selection from Marshall in the 2024 NFL Draft, Ali has received the vast majority of his action on special teams, totaling just 55 rushing yards on 17 carries in two seasons with the Ravens.

It is evident that there is not a clear heir to King Henry’s throne in Charm City.

For now.

The Ravens still have the remainder of the offseason to reinforce the unit. Whether it’s by a late free agency addition, which DeCosta and his crew have a habit of doing, or through April’s draft, it is expected that another ball carrier will be added to the roster.

Should the front office choose to explore free agency, the end goal would likely be to find a veteran backup running back to bridge the team into selecting one in the 2027 NFL Draft.

There are a number of viable ball carriers still on the open market that could fit that mold.

If the Ravens want to complete a swap of running backs with the Chargers, they could sign former Pro-Bowler Najee Harris, who is coming off a torn Achilles, but rushed for 1,043 yards just two seasons ago. The move would make sense considering current Ravens running backs coach, Eddie Faulkner, coached Harris for the entirety of his four-year Pittsburgh Steelers career.

The team could also look to add longtime division rival Nick Chubb, a four-time Pro-Bowler who spent last season with the Houston Texans as a capable backup to rookie Woody Marks.

Or, they could turn to someone a bit younger, potentially 26-year-old Zamir White, who struggled to find his footing in four years with the Las Vegas Raiders, but could act as a reclamation project as Baltimore’s new offense develops.

My expectation, however, is that the team addresses the potential need through the draft, attempting to take a mid-round swing on a high-upside ball carrier.

Let’s look at some of my favorite candidates to meet that model.

Mike Washington Jr., Arkansas

This year’s running back class is not very top heavy, to say the least.

With Love potentially expected to be the lone back drafted in the first round, the majority of the talent found at the position will come between the third and fifth rounds.

Mike Washington Jr. has proven to be one of the top options in that range.

Formerly at Buffalo and New Mexico State, Washington transferred to Arkansas last season where he tallied 1,070 rushing yards on 6.4 yards per attempt in 12 games.

At this year’s NFL combine, he earned the highest athleticism score among running backs (92) and scored a 4.33-second 40-yard dash. He received a 6.24 prospect grade by NFL.com, listed to eventually become an average NFL starter.

Standing at 6-foot-1 and 223 pounds, Washington’s rare speed-to-size combination could be a trait too difficult to pass for the Ravens on draft day.

Demond Claiborne, Wake Forest

Another gem at the position in the upcoming draft is Wake Forest’s Demond Claiborne.

Claiborne, 22, spent all four of his collegiate seasons with the Demon Deacons, recording double-digit touchdowns in each of his past two campaigns. His 909 rushing yards last season ranked third among all ACC running backs.

At the combine, Claiborne was not far off from Washington in athleticism, ranking third among all participants at the position with a score of 81.

His 4.37-second 40-yard dash exemplified the elite breakaway speed that he displayed in his time at Wake Forest.

Should Baltimore want a potential Mitchell-type replacement, Claiborne is a very suitable option that the team could find in the fourth round.

Kaytron Allen, Penn State

Penn State’s backfield drew a lot of attention this season, potentially possessing two NFL-capable running backs.

One, Nick Singleton, has tallied 12 or more touchdowns in three of his four collegiate seasons and was a five-star recruit out of high school.

The focus for this list, however, will be Singleton’s backfield counterpart Kaytron Allen, who is flying under the radar in draft projections.

Allen, the Nittany Lions’ all-time rushing leader, rushed for a Big Ten-leading 15 touchdowns last season. His 1,303 rushing yards also ranked second in the conference.

The NFL.com metrics value Allen as an average backup, but the 23-year-old’s ability to sustain more than five yards per attempt throughout his entire college career speaks for itself.

If the Ravens are looking for a capable backup to Henry with starting upside, they should look no further than Penn State’s talented backfield.

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Baltimore’s backfield is in an undeniably rare position.

They possess one of the league’s best performers, but history shows that he has a maximum of two efficient seasons remaining should he stay healthy. And the Ravens currently have no answer to fill the void when he eventually departs or his workload decreases.

In a class with shallow elite talent at the position, the upcoming draft in 30 days could be the perfect opportunity for DeCosta to take a flier on a hidden gem.

Keep an eye out for potential rookie running backs – hopefully not including Love at No. 14, as Zrebiec has suggested.

The premium draft capital should be preserved for a position of immediate need, while the suitor for Henry’s eventual replacement should be a project-type solution that is addressed in the later rounds.

Though, the bold projection from The Athletic underscores looming questions about Baltimore’s future plan for the backfield, which is something that should be addressed sooner rather than later.

The post OTL: Draft a Running Back, Sure, but Not in First Round appeared first on Russell Street Report.

Source: https://russellstreetreport.com/2026/03/23/out-to-lunch/draft-rb-round-1/