The Baltimore Ravens lost quite a few impact players this offseason in free agency. But they also added some serious talent. With a run-heavy offense under quarterback Lamar Jackson, Baltimore brought in running back Mark Ingram.
This week, as the NFL does its annual “Top 100 Players of 2019” list, Ingram is the first Ravens player to make the cut. Ingram comes in at No. 80.
While making the list at all is nice, it’s actually a huge drop for Ingram compared to last year’s No. 43 ranking.
Ingram did have a down year, however. After a Pro Bowl season in 2017 with 1,124 rushing yards and 12 rushing touchdowns, Ingram was suspended for the first four games of 2018 because of a PED violation. He finished with just 645 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns after splitting duties with Alvin Kamara.
But you’d figure the list would take into account Ingram’s current team. Now with Baltimore, Ingram figures to see significantly more snaps in the Ravens’ run-first offense. With Jackson taking over in Week 11 for Joe Flacco, Baltimore’s offense leaned heavily toward running the football and with great success. In the final seven games of the regular season, the Ravens ripped off a total of 1,607 rushing yards to the tune of 229.5 yards per game.
If the Ravens can find that level of success rushing the football again, Ingram should be able to get back to his Pro Bowl-caliber production. And maybe that’ll mean a much higher showing on this list in 2020.
