The Ravens have signed second-round pick J.K. Dobbins to a four-year contract, the team announced Thursday. It's the highest draft pick Baltimore has signed so far, and one of several already done.
Dobbins was the 55th-overall pick and was one of college football's most explosive running backs last year, averaging 6.7 yards per carry while gaining 2,003 yards and scoring 21 touchdowns.
The Ravens were already deep at running back with Mark Ingram II coming off a 1,000-yard season, backed up by Gus Edwards and Justice Hill. However, the Ravens ran the football more than any other NFL team last year, and Dobbins is a special talent.
The Ravens' run-heavy offensive style makes running back depth more important, and General Manager Eric DeCosta sees no issue with having four quality running backs.
"I would equate it to us last year having the tight ends that we had – the three tight ends," DeCosta said on "The Lounge Podcast." "[Offensive Coordinator] Greg [Roman] did an amazing job of taking those tight ends and really creating something special that made us very tough for defenses to play. And now we've got the four running backs and they all do different things well. It just makes us, I think, a really, really well-rounded team that's tough to defend."
NFL Network's Charley Casserly called the Ravens' selection of Dobbins the best value pick of the entire 2020 Draft. Dobbins displayed excellent speed, superb vision, and ability to change direction quickly at Ohio State that should transfer well to the NFL. The Ravens doubted Dobbins would be available at No. 55, but when he was, DeCosta felt compelled to take him.
"He was by far – by far – the highest-rated guy that we had on the board," DeCosta said. "We kind of felt like he fell out of the sky right to us, the type of the team that we are to get a running back like that."
Dobbins is the fifth player in the Ravens' 10-player draft class to sign. The team also signed its seventh-round pick, Iowa safety Geno Stone on Thursday. Stone was called the best cover safety in college football since 2018 by Pro Football Focus, and many expected him to be drafted much higher. Stone said he will enter the league with a chip on his shoulder, determined to outperform where he was drafted.
Other Ravens draft picks who have signed are third-round defensive tackle Justin Madubuike, fourth-round guard Ben Bredeson, fifth-round defensive tackle Broderick Washington and sixth-round wide receiver James Proche. Still unsigned are first-round inside linebacker Patrick Queen and three third-round picks – wide receiver Devin Duvernay, inside linebacker Malik Harrison and offensive tackle Tyre Phillips.
