Everyone knows the Baltimore Ravens have Derrick Henry.
But there’s reason to believe in another running back in their room, too: Keaton Mitchell.
Mitchell came out of nowhere as a breakout performer as a 2023 rookie before getting hurt. His return in 2024 was a lot less fruitful.
That sets up a pivot point 2025. Which version of Mitchell will we get?
ESPN’s Seth Walder predicts it’ll be the best version of Mitchell, providing the following projection on Sunday:
“Running back Keaton Mitchell will have at least four games with 20-plus fantasy points. This is more or less me running back (pun intended) my bold prediction from a year ago, when I was also bullish on Mitchell. Perhaps I was a year too early then. Even with the extra time passed, I have a hard time forgetting Mitchell’s 201 rush yards over expectation on 47 carries in 2023, per NFL Next Gen Stats.”
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That’s a crazy amount of rush yards over expectation, more than 4.0 such yards per carry.
It’s what gave Mitchell a ridiculous 8.4 yards per carry as a rookie.
In his injury return, he ran just 15 times for 30 yards.
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Henry has a dominant hold on the backfield, but Mitchell has talent. The undrafted rookie out of East Carolina wouldn’t have been so good in 2023 if he didn’t at least have some ability.
How good he can be this year remains to be seen, because his opportunities could be limited in some games.
But if Mitchell gets chances, there are many out there who expect him to deliver in an exciting way.
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