The Baltimore Ravens are much more top-heavy than the majority of preseason evaluators envisioned.
Plenty was written about their promising offseason, as they combined accomplished journeymen and promising draft picks to add to their win-now situation, but the proven stars ended up looking alone in almost every meaningful position group. The pass-rush, offensive line and secondary desperately needed fresh blood to step up, with most of the rookies looking just as raw as some feared while only DeAndre Hopkins and Chidobe Awuzie have performed as well as anticipated on the veteran front.
The Ravens' depth has been largely disregarded amidst their crawl to 6-5, but one young contributor continues to shine in limited opportunity. Young running back Keaton Mitchell is largely handcuffed behind one of the team's stars in Derrick Henry, and his production has made for an intriguing tertiary storyline to monitor during Henry's up-and-down campaign.
Producing Along the Margins
He, as well as Jackson, has succumbed to the Ravens' disappointing offensive line, a group that's incapable of consistently protecting the pocket and creating open running lines to Henry to charge through. Mitchell isn't a power back, though; he wins with pure speed, as he demonstrated in the Ravens' 23-10 win over the New York Jets.
Baltimore Ravens Running Back Derrick Henry
Nov 23, 2025; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry (22) rushes for a touchdown during the third quarter against the New York Jets at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-Imagn Images | Peter Casey-Imagn Images
His 10 yards on two touches over the weekend barely accounts for a mention on the Ravens' box score, his lowest finish to a game since Week 6. Unfortunately for Mitchell, his 35-yard run was erased by a holding penalty, further dooming him to be buried during Henry's multiple-touchdown outing, but his brief highlight shows the skills he brings to table. When his lane through the blockers is closed off, he has the jets to reroute on the fly and outrun everyone else on his second read.
It was wiped out by a holding penalty, but Keaton Mitchell topped 21 mph on this 35-yard run, per @NextGenStats. pic.twitter.com/sFykBSI5kH
— Ryan Mink (@ryanmink) November 24, 2025
That instance of blistering speed aligns with the sort of runs he's produced all fall, as he joins a star-studded bunch on the list of backs to top 20 miles per hour three or more times. Except unlike the half-dozen Pro Bowlers he's grouped in with, who've each enjoyed between 120 and 190 rushes, Mitchell's only benefitted from his time with the ball 15 times to this point.
Mitchell's Odd Struggle
His odd underutilization can be attributed to the coaching staff's trust in Henry, but that wouldn't make sense considering his own diminished usage. Despite leading the NFL in usage four different times, he's only gotten the chance to rush more than 21 times in a game once in 11 games.
He's posting 4.7 yards per attempt. And while power rushers like Henry won't routinely log the most jaw-dropping per-touch numbers, he's a Hall of Fame talent who's made a career out of dragging tacklers with him on his runs, and he just notched 5.9 in that same metric in his Ravens debut a season ago. That's just a tenth of a yard ahead of the rate Mitchell's working at this year, as he's managed to recreate some of the meteoric production from his rookie season in spite of that trouble assortment of linemen.
Baltimore Ravens Running Back Keaton Mitchell
Oct 26, 2025; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Ravens running back Keaton Mitchell (34) rushes during the fourth quarter against the Chicago Bears at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
Mitchell was recognized for his strong outing of subtlety in Week 12, with PFF rewarding the running back with the highest rating of any of Baltimore's offensive players in the form of a 78.8 grade. As exciting as Henry is to watch get loose and truck downhill, there's a reason why numerous fans are just waiting for Harbaugh to give Mitchell the keys to the Ravens' run game.
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