The Baltimore Ravens have had to rely on the production of many new faces over the course of the 2021 season so far. With 15 players on injured reserve at the moment and others dealing with injuries of their own, the team has seen solid contributions from players who weren’t even on their roster three weeks ago.
Maurice Moton of Bleacher Report put together a list of one player from each NFL team that has earned more playing time so far during the 2021 season. The player he chose for Baltimore was running back Ty’Son Williams, who has built upon a very strong preseason performance and has played good football overall in the first two games of the year. When explaining why he chose Williams, Moton pointed to his production so far during the regular season.
“Williams has played only 50 percent of the offensive snaps…Yet he’s the Ravens’ second-leading ball-carrier (142 rushing yards) behind quarterback Lamar Jackson. The 2020 undrafted product out of BYU has also caught five passes for 45 yards—two going for first downs.”
Moton also talked about how the team should feed the player who has the least wear and tear on his body.
“Baltimore signed Latavius Murray, Le’Veon Bell and Devonta Freeman to fill the running back room, but Williams has done enough to claim the featured role. While the Ravens have some decorated veterans who may have more gas left in the tank, they should feed the player with the freshest legs on the ground.”
Williams is averaging 6.5 yards per carry through two games in 2021, which is extremely impressive considering he was thrust into a massive role with the injuries that fellow running backs J.K. Dobbins, Gus Edwards and Justice Hill suffered before the year began. The second-year rusher has proven to be highly effective, and it wouldn’t be shocking to see the Ravens reward Williams with more work out of the backfield in the coming weeks and months.