Mink: Keaton Mitchell has been more involved since the Ravens’ bye week, but he hasn’t been super involved. He had four carries against Chicago, Miami, and Minnesota, a season-high six carries versus the Browns, then two carries each of the past two weeks versus the Jets and Bengals. Mitchell took one of his touches on Thanksgiving – a creative toss counter – 18 yards for a touchdown. He also had three targets in the passing game, tied for a season high.
After playing 26% of the Ravens’ offensive snaps against the Browns, Mitchell’s snaps have dropped each of the past two weeks. He had just eight snaps against the Bengals, but that game was a bit of an anomaly with all the turnovers and the Ravens trying to claw their way back from a large deficit.
There’s room for Mitchell to be more involved. Ravens coaches would probably like to see him have more than eight snaps.
The challenge is you also don’t want to take Derrick Henry (a future Hall of Famer) off the field too much. The other factor is how much the Ravens trust Mitchell in third-down situations. Is he reliable in pass protection and dangerous as a receiver? The Ravens turned to Rasheen Ali in those situations more often than Mitchell. Those aren’t Mitchell’s strengths, but does the upside of his big-play potential overshadow it?
Given how good Mitchell has looked with the ball in his hands, it wouldn’t surprise me if the Ravens give him more opportunities down the stretch when they could lean on the ground game more overall. I want Henry getting the rock and Mitchell sprinkled in. If the Ravens offense, and particularly the rushing attack, start clicking better, I think you’ll see both.