Drafted in the 4th round of the 2014 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Ravens, running back Lorenzo Taliaferro looked to be a key part of the Ravens rushing attack. Coming out of Coastal Carolina, the Ravens saw Taliaferro as a big bruising back that capable of chewing down clock, converting third & short or bully his way past the goal line.
During his rookie season, Taliaferro got his first touches of his NFL career in a week 3 matchup with the Cleveland Browns. It was a successful debut as Taliaferro rushed 18 times for 91 yards and a touchdown. With running back Ray Rice being released due to his indefinite suspension stemming from the infamous domestic violence incident, and fellow running back Bernard Pierce failing to step up, Taliaferro and Justin Forsett had to carry the load. Taliaferro showed glimpses of what he can do as a backup to Forsett, but he was marred by injuries and inconsistent play, which brought Bernard Pierce back up the depth chart. It didn't help that Taliaferro committed a key fumble in a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers that hurt his stock even more.
Unfortunately, Taliaferro was placed on injured reserve due to a sprained foot on December 16, 2014, ending his rookie campaign. Despite this, there were still high expectations for Taliaferro heading into the 2015 season. With the draft pick of Javorius Allen to go along with Forsett and Taliaferro, the Ravens looked to have a strong running back group and a perfect compliment of speed, agility, and power.
In his first game in week 2 of the 2015 season, Taliaferro rushed 7 times for 34 yards and a touchdown in a loss to the Oakland Raiders. However, Taliaferro's season ended prematurely once again thanks to a nagging foot injury and was placed on injured reserve.
We are just two weeks away from the start of the regular season and their is only one player still on the Ravens physically unable to perform list, Lorenzo Taliaferro. To make matters worse, Taliaferro has watched the Ravens draft running back Kenneth Dixon and has seen fellow running back Terrance West emerge during training camp. If Taliaferro can't make his way back on to the field, he will very likely be the odd man out in an otherwise stacked running back core. Then again, he might be out even if he does make his way back to practice.