Lorenzo Taliaferro's Emergence Creates RB Logjam on Ravens' Depth Chart

In 2013, the Baltimore Ravens defense was undone in part by the worst running game in football.

Bernard Pierce and Ray Rice were the two worst running backs in football who received 100 or more attempts, according to Football Outsiders' DVOA metric. The team averaged an NFL-low 3.1 yards per attempt and was ahead of only Jacksonville and Atlanta in total yardage.

In 2014, the Ravens are so good at running the football they can't decide who should do it.

Lorenzo Taliaferro's 18-carry, 91-yard performance last week in Baltimore's 23-21 win over Cleveland gives the Ravens three viable options behind Joe Flacco.

Pierce's per-carry average is over one yard higher than his 2013 total, and he barely missed out on his second career 100-yard day against Pittsburgh in Week 2. Justin Forsett has emerged as the most versatile threat, capable of making big plays in the running and passing game.

The Ravens now find themselves 11th in rushing offense DVOA. Forsett is the fourth-best running back in football by the same metric. Taliaferro would be high among the league's best if he had enough carries to qualify.

Pierce grades out less enthusiastically but might get a bump when the numbers begin considering his poor Week 1 came against the Cincinnati Bengals—arguably the best team in football.

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Pierce also didn't have the benefit of facing a Browns defense that ranks 28th in rushing yards allowed and is Football Outsiders' worst in football. The third-year back sat out with a thigh injury, allowing for the emergence of Taliaferro, the team's fourth-round pick in May out of Coastal Carolina.

Ravens coach Jim Harbaugh said the team expects Pierce back in lineup for Sunday's game against the Panthers.

“I hope so,” Harbaugh told reporters. “It’s a muscle injury. We thought we’d get him to the game, but it didn’t work out. We should have a good chance of getting him back next week.”

This, of course, raises the question: Who on earth will be getting said carries in the event that Pierce suits up?

We have a solid enough sample at this point to know Harbaugh doesn't trust Forsett to be a sole lead back.

He's made that much clear in the last two weeks, giving Pierce the bulk of the work in Week 2 after Forsett outperformed him three days earlier and subbing his unproven rookie into the workhorse role whenever Pierce went down.

The implication here is an understandable one. Forsett, whose promising start to his career was undone by a combination of injuries and Marshawn Lynch's transformation into a star, is 5'8" and 197 pounds. He doesn't have the frame to withstand a 20-carry workload per week.

Baltimore is smartly using him whenever there's a threat of a pass, and he's found a bunch of solid rushing lanes on the outside.

The formerly maligned offensive line has responded well to Gary Kubiak's zone-read system, ranking seventh in adjusted line yards and third in Pro Football Focus' (subscription required) run-blocking metric. 

It'll be interesting to see how the Ravens' running game responds with the team reporting that Eugene Monroe is on the shelf after knee surgery. Monroe had looked much improved from his 2013 form, and his absence will force undrafted rookie James Hurst into the left tackle spot.

Carolina's front seven isn't quite as scary with Greg Hardy being deactivated. Still, using an undrafted rookie at the most important position on the offensive line against one of the league's best defenses is...not ideal.

It's possible by this time next week that Baltimore's running game will have regressed toward irrelevancy. The Panthers have been intermittently successful at thwarting the ground game, swallowing Doug Martin, Reggie Bush and Joique Bell whole before allowing the Pittsburgh Steelers to run roughshod Monday night.

Their overarching strength defensively is the ranginess of linebackers Thomas Davis and Luke Kuechly in the passing game, though, so there's production to be had here.

If we earmark 15 touches for Forsett—roughly his average so far—that leaves the basically impossible chore of figuring out how Harbaugh will divvy the Taliaferro-Pierce split.

Pierce will return to the starting lineup if healthy, so odds are he'll get the first crack. But if he's ineffective early—think a redux of Week 1's horror show—then wouldn't Harbaugh's hand be forced into trusting the rookie?

Since arriving at camp, Taliaferro has done nothing but perform at a high level. He led the NFL with 243 rushing yards in the preseason and did little to alter his reputation as a big, bruising back who hits holes with force.

“I think the results speak for themselves with Lorenzo,” Harbaugh told reporters. “It was downhill running, he was physical, he was hard to tackle. That’s an element that is a big plus for an offense.”

Taliaferro is still learning on the job. His collegiate career was spent bouncing from Lackawanna College in Pennsylvania to Coastal Carolina, where he received intermittent opportunities as a junior before his senior-season breakout.

Kubiak may find success using Arian Foster as a template for Taliaferro's growth. Like Foster, Taliaferro is best served as a one-cut running back. He doesn't have great top-end speed but runs with a promising combination of patience and decisiveness.

Foster was undrafted out of Tennessee, becoming the latest late-round draft choice to find NFL stardom in the zone-blocking scheme.

Taliaferro might be next. Last Sunday may ultimately serve as a precursor to an Alfred Morris-esque rookie campaign—himself another late-round, zone-blocking star.

Or Pierce may reenter the starting lineup this week and reclaim his spot at the depth chart.

We'll get a better idea in a few days. For now, the Ravens' running back situation is as tough to figure out as it was a year ago. Only this time, it's a compliment.

 

Unless otherwise noted, advanced statistics courtesy of Football Outsiders.

Follow Tyler Conway on Twitter @tylerconway22.