Don't Sleep on Ravens Running Back J.K. Dobbins

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Ravens running back J.K. Dobbins was poised for a breakout season before a knee injury in a preseason game derailed him.

Dobbins is expected to get back in the lineup this season and make a huge impact for Baltimore.

GM Eric DeCosta has seen his progress up close this offseason.

The interesting thing – a little side note – J.K. and I, we’re neighbors," DeCosta said. "We live probably a quarter of a mile apart from each other. So, he would come over, and we would give him cookies. We’d bring him … My wife is kind of like a mother to the players, so she would bring care packages.

"So, I would see J.K. a lot, and I would also see him at the facility doing his rehab. He’s bouncing back and forth between L.A. [Los Angeles] and Baltimore. Again, I’m very confident that he’s going to come back and really flourish this year.”

Dobbins suffered an injury to his left knee after getting tackled on a screen pass in a 37-3 victory over Washington in the third preseason game last year. He was later ruled out for the season.

In 2020, Dobbins had a solid training camp and worked his way up the depth chart to be the starter. He led the Ravens' running backs with 805 yards on 134 carries with nine touchdowns.

Dobbins also recorded a rushing score in seven consecutive games, including the wild-card playoff game against Tennessee, which tied for the second-longest streak by a rookie in NFL history.

The Ravens will be in good shape if he finds that same form this season.

"He’s been working very, very hard, and we are very, very confident that he’ll come back and be the type of player that he was two years ago," DeCosta said.