- J.K. Dobbins is entering a contract year: Dobbins is entering the fourth and final year of his rookie contract and his $ 1.8 million cap hit in 2023 sits 35th among running backs, but the harsh reality of the running back position right now is that lucrative contracts are few and far between.
- The case for extending Dobbins: With his strong finish to the season, Dobbins’ 2022 numbers should give a lot of hope about how he can perform in 2023 and beyond.
- The case against: However, there’s nuance to every performance, and the caveat to how well he produced at the end of the season is the support he had around him.
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
“The business side is very hard…It’s never just roses and daisies.”
That’s what J.K. Dobbins told WJZ-TV in Baltimore in an exclusive interview last week, and there seem to be conflicting stories on whether or not his lack of full participation in mini-camp was injury or contract related. Dobbins is entering the fourth and final year of his rookie contract and unsurprisingly appears to want a lucrative long-term deal to stay with the Ravens.
His $ 1.8 million cap hit in 2023 sits 35th among running backs, but the harsh reality of the running back position right now is that lucrative contracts are few and far between. Six players at the position have cap hits above $ 10 million in 2023, and three of those are set to play under the franchise tag.
Should the Baltimore Ravens be looking to extend Dobbins, and where does he currently rank among the best running backs in the league?
Dobbins came into the league as a second-round pick out of Ohio State in 2020 and impressed as a rookie. His 82.0 PFF rushing grade ranked 12th among all running backs that totaled 100 or more carries and third among rookies while his 5.8 yards per carry were the best mark at the position. Combining with Lamar Jackson at quarterback and fellow running back Gus Edwards, he was part of the Ravens' dynamic rushing attack.
A major knee injury in August of 2021 ended his second season before it began, costing Dobbins the bulk of the next two seasons. Even when he returned early last year, it was clear he wasn’t ready to be back on the field, averaging fewer than 3.5 yards per carry in three of the four games he featured in between Weeks 3 and 6.
After taking some more time to recover, Dobbins looked much closer to his previous self to end the year. From Week 14 through the playoff loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, Dobbins averaged at least 4.8 yards per carry in every game while earning a 78.7 PFF rushing grade, which ranked 13th among the 40 running backs that totaled at least 40 carries in that span.
The case for extending Dobbins
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