Why the Ravens drafted Rasheen Ali

A look into the reasoning behind the Ravens’ pick of Rasheen Ali at No. 165.

Despite adding four-time Pro Bowler and two-time league rushing champion Derrick Henry during the initial wave of free agency, running back remained an underrated need for the Baltimore Ravens heading into the 2024 NFL Draft. The only player at the position under contract beyond the 2025 season is last year’s undrafted gem Keaton Mitchell, who will likely miss some time to start the season after suffering a torn ACL last December.

This year’s running back class is far from highly touted and the fact that none went in the first round and only four came off the board on Day 2 supports the claim. However, it still featured numerous prospects who were talented or specialized enough to reinforce a backfield rotation and round out a depth chart.

Day 3 always seemed like the sweet spot where the intriguing and useful role players at running back would be taken. That proved to be true for most teams including the Ravens, who selected Marshall’s Rasheen Ali in the fifth round at the No. 165 overall.

After being one of the prospects they brought in for a Top 30 pre-draft visit, he will now be calling Baltimore home.

Ali is an explosive playmaker who can complement Henry well as a supplemental member of the backfield rotation. He also possesses potential to carve out a larger role on offense down the road. Ali has a similar build and skill set to veteran Justice Hill when it comes to just about everything but pass protection, where he can improve to be an any-down option moving forward.

In two of his last three college seasons, Ali eclipsed 1,100 rushing yards and 1,300 yards from scrimmage, scored 15+ total touchdowns and averaged 5.5 yards per carry in his career. His breakout season came in 2021 when he led the nation in rushing touchdowns with 23, recorded 334 receiving yards and finished with 1,735 total scrimmage yards.

Ali is a one-cut runner with good agility, vision, patience and burst to find and accelerate through holes and cutback lanes for a chunk play or even go the distance. A leg injury limited him to just three games in 2022 but he bounced back with another explosive senior season in 2023, recording 1,135 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns along with 28 receptions for 213 receiving yards and a score.

A bicep injury suffered at the 2024 Senior Bowl prevented Ali from taking part in the rest of the pre-draft process outside of taking visits. However, it shouldn’t limit his ability to take part in training camp or threaten his availability for the start of the regular season.

In addition to being a weapon out of the backfield, he could also have an impact as a rookie on special teams in the return game with the new kick return rules making the play more like a traditional running play.