Ravens roster breakdown: Running Back

One of the quieter battles this preseason is at the running back position. While the Ravens have their starter in Justin Forsett, they are looking for the second and third string players to take up some of the short yardage situations and keep Forsett fresh all season long. So far second year rusher Lorenzo Taliaferro had been seeing most of the action and performing incredibly well, but with an MCL injury, he is expected to miss a few weeks at the start of the season. That injury gives someone else on the roster a chance to step up and strut their stuff.

The locks to make the roster are Justin Forsett and Lorenzo Taliaferro, but after that, it is a bit of a guessing game. The Ravens brought in two new rushers this offseason, making three running backs behind the two starters. There is no way that the Ravens carry five running backs into the season as they will likely want to give more space to the secondary and the wide receivers.

Javorius Allen is a fourth round draft pick, meaning that he isn't going anywhere this season. That leaves the fourth spot to Terrence McGee and Fitzgerald Toussaint. Toussaint has been on the roster since last season, where he saw very limited action, carrying the ball six times for only 12 yards. The deciding factor between McGee and Toussaint in my mind comes down to this year's training camp and if that is the case, McGee is well ahead of Toussaint so far.

As I've noted in my live observations from training camp, McGee has been the player that I've kept my eye on. Not because I am particularly tied to him, but because he continues to impress every time I look at him. Churning out five yard carries on the inside and outside, McGee looks like another one of the Ravens' patented diamonds in the rough.

Once you get to the fullbacks, the Ravens will likely only keep a single fullback since they aren't used as often and starter Kyle Juszczyk is entrenched as the top dog. That puts Kiero Small out of the lineup and likely on another team, despite looking pretty good so far in training camp.

Starters:

Justin Forsett
Kyle Juszczyk

Backups:

Lorenzo Taliaferro
Javorius Allen
Terrence McGee