Gus Edwards is the most underrated Baltimore Ravens player

Who is the most underrated Baltimore Ravens player? It’s easily Gus Edwards:

Gus Edwards was the Baltimore Ravens third leading rusher in the 2019 season. Most teams in the National Football League don’t have Lamar Jackson and don’t break a single season record for total rushing yards. Edwards had over 700 yards on the ground and he averaged just over eight rushing attempts per game. There are few running backs who could be more consistent as the second running back on the depth chart.

Mark Ingram broke six runs over 20 yards in the 2019 season. Edwards had five such runs. Ingram averaged an even five yards per carry. Edwards averaged 5.3 yards when he took a hand-off. The argument isn’t that he’s as good as Ingram. Ingram is a more dynamic runner who helps out more in the pass game. It is however the point, that the drop off from Ingram to Edwards isn’t very noticeable.

That’s why the playoff game against the Titans was so frustrating. The Ravens were in a tough fight with Ingram coming into the game less than 100 percent ready to roll. The entire stadium was begging Greg Roman to give Edwards the rock and the Ravens barely tried to run the football. It almost felt like the Ravens forgot about Edwards. Talk about being underrated, right?

The perception of the Ravens offense was that Mark Ingram got handed the ball on a loop. Ingram actually never had more than 19 attempts in a game for the Ravens. He averaged 13.5 carries a game.

There was a clear pecking order in the backfield. If this was a movie, Ingram was the leading man and Gus Edwards was the best supporting actor. Sometimes the best supporting actor makes or breaks a film. Sometimes the same can be said of the number two running back.

With Edwards it’s the consistency that you have to admire. In 2018 he had 137 rushing attempts for 718 yards. In 2019 he had 133 rushing attempts for 711 yards. With Edwards, you get what you get and the production is good. Some running backs get better as the game goes along yet others are capable of random bursts that can give energy to the offense. Edwards is the latter type of back. He is a running back that the Ravens sprinkle into the game at just the right times when the offense is right.

One question going into the offseason is will the Ravens add to the running back position? While the Ravens may not be able to help themselves if they see an opportunity to add to a strength, no move is needed at the running back position.

Edwards is an underrated star better than the starter on most teams. We’re talking about a 24 year old running back who has five 100 yard performances in two seasons of NFL football. We’re talking about a running back who has averaged over five yards in back to back years and who has carried the rock 270 times for the purple and black. He’s not your typical number two running back and he’s completely underrated.