Baltimore Ravens: Is adding a running back this offseason foolish?

The bottom line:

While the idea of adding more elite depth to the running back spot sounds like fun, it simply doesn’t make sense. The Baltimore Ravens have a great stable of guys right now and adding another to a crowded spot isn’t in their best interest; at least not if it’s an investment within the first three rounds of the draft.

Baltimore has embraced the philosophy of either drafting running backs later in the draft or getting cheap veteran options. The last time the Ravens splurged on a running back was when the team resigned Ray Rice. Since then, the team has used veterans like Justin Forsett, Terrance West, Alex Collins, and Mark Ingram and tagged them along with late-round/undrafted rookies like Lorenzo Taliaferro, Javorius Allen, Gus Edwards, and Justice Hill. The results speak for themselves, as Baltimore continually has one of the league’s best rushing attacks year-in and year-out.

The front office isn’t likely to change their ideology towards running backs anytime soon, either. With contracts around the league to guys like Todd Gurley and Le’Veon Bell hurting their respective franchises, why would the Ravens want to burn themselves by investing high-capital at the position? It simply doesn’t make enough sense to go against the grain.

The bottom line here is this: The Baltimore Ravens know what they’re doing when it comes to building the run game. While we’d love to see a flashy young guy get groomed to become a future face of the franchise, Baltimore should continue to do what they’ve been doing and let the position thrive with late picks and cheap contracts.