Keaton Mitchell Aims to Copy Hall of Famer in New Ravens Role

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Keaton Mitchell is ready to emulate a Hall of Famer in a new role for the Baltimore Ravens.

He’s no longer worried about the state of his knee, and he knows the speed is still there, but Keaton Mitchell wants to use his best quality in a new role for the Baltimore Ravens.

The running back aims to do it by emulating an NFL great who turned a niche skill into a place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Specifically, Mitchell wants to be another Devin Hester in the return game.

Speaking to reporters during OTAs, including AJ Gersh of Fox45 Baltimore, Mitchell spelled out his desire “to be the one to return the kickoff returns and being able to be like a Devin Hester, like a don’t kick it to that type of guy.”

It’s a bold ambition, but the NFL changing the rules to bring touchbacks out to the 35-yard line makes more kick returns likely. Mitchell believes “teams will put it in play.”

If they do, Mitchell will be the Ravens’ best weapon thanks to game-breaking speed he underlined by clocking “22.4 mph earlier in OTAs,” according to Gersh.

Carving out a role for Mitchell on special teams is a smart way for the Ravens to engineer extra big plays. It’s also an easy way to get a potential breakout talent onto the field more often.

Keaton Mitchell Ready for More With Ravens

Putting Mitchell back to return kicks can have a transformative effect on the Ravens in football’s third phase. He’s a legitimate field-stretcher with the ability to outrun a team in any given moment.

A good example of Mitchell’s sudden-strike capability is this catch and run of a screen pass against the Houston Texans from last season, highlighted by SleeperNFL’s Chris Cooper.

Running behind a convoy of blockers in the screen game has natural crossovers with returning kicks. Both are obvious ways to clear lanes for a turbocharged Mitchell to exploit.

So is his experience in the backfield. As the 23-year-old former undrafted free agent put it, “the concepts are similar to outside-zone schemes as a RB,” per The Baltimore Banner’s Jonas Shaffer.

Putting this experience to good use will depend on Mitchell’s health. Fortunately, it’s trending in the right direction.

Healthy Keaton Mitchell Won’t Be Forgotten in Loaded Backfield

The presence of two-time NFL rushing champion Derrick Henry means every other member of the backfield will be feeding off scraps. That’s going to be tough for Mitchell, who proved before his injury he can lead this running game.

Replicating his early-career promise will be easier when Mitchell isn’t thinking about how well his surgically-repaired knee will hold up. Getting over that psychological hurdle proved challenging for Mitchell last season, but he told the media “I’m out there like normal, not worried about what my knee doing. Just being confident in my knee and my rehab,” per ESPN’s Jamison Hensley.

Mitchell will need to be at 100 percent, both physically and mentally, to siphon off some carries in a rotation led by Henry and Justice Hill. The latter remains the go-to utility back on third downs for the Ravens, but Mitchell won’t be forgotten.

He’s somebody whose game-changing speed needs to be fed as often as possible, so special teams duty makes sense. Especially when Mitchell is more likely to win the field position battle and find the end zone more often than fellow back Rasheen Ali.

Replicating the four Pro Bowl nods and three first-team All-Pro honors earned by Hester will be tough, but Mitchell is a special talent the Ravens should unleash in multiple ways.