Baltimore Ravens Rookie Bobby Rainey Impresses in NFL Debut

Bobby Rainey, rookie running back for the Ravens, has stirred up a lot of conversation in the early parts of training camp with his impressive outings.

It is even being said that, behind Ray Rice of course, Rainey has been the most impressive back in camp thus far. 

In fact, his receiving abilities have even been said to be better than that of Ray Rice. The versatility Rainey shows out of the backfield has made him an early front-runner for the backup spot. 

After a 31-17 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday night, Rainey left people with a lot more to talk about. 

Rainey got his name in the books on the first drive of the second half after catching a five-yard pass from quarterback Tyrod Taylor, before being shoved out of bounds. The very next play he caught another five-yarder, and a few plays later Rainey got his first hand off and took it 13 yards for a first down. 

His big moment came in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter when he caught a screen pass on 2nd-and-10 from Curtis Painter, and proceeded to shake-and-bake his way 18 yards into the end zone. It was his first professional touchdown.

The Georgia native finished the game with 36 yards rushing on 12 carries and 28 yards receiving, including his touchdown, on three receptions. 

The 24-year-old from Western Kentucky University has been on a mission since Baltimore picked him up post-draft. The mission is to prove to the other 31 teams that passed on him multiple times that they made a big mistake.

This was a pretty good start. 

*Stats are from ESPN.com.