Rookie Profile: Rasheen Ali, Running Back, Baltimore Ravens
Welcome to the Rookie Profile: Rasheen Ali, a 3-star recruit from Shaker Heights High School in Cleveland, Ohio. Ali did receive another offer to play college football from Hampton University, but turned it down to attend Marshall.
At Marshall University, Ali played little as a true freshman. However, he broke out in a big way in his second season. Ali handled 295 touches and converted them into 1735 total yards and 24 touchdowns. Unfortunately, his 2022 season was marred by injury, but he did bounce back in a big way in 2023. In his final collegiate season, Ali totalled 1348 combined yards and 16 touchdowns on just 240 touches, once again proving his sophomore breakout was no fluke.
In the NFL, Ali has the potential to be a reliable depth RB for an NFL team. His production all but proves he has the chops to carry the load while his 3-down skill set should make him versatile enough to stick at the next level.
Measurables
Draft Capital & Landing Spot
Draft Capital- Round 5, 165th Overall
- Ali was, surprisingly, the 12th back selected in the 2024 NFL Draft. He went ahead of Tyrone Tracy and Kimani Vidal, both of whom are considered dynasty sleepers.
Landing Spot- Baltimore Ravens
- Ali lands behind 30-year-old workhorse Derrick Henry, so there’s no hope for a large role. However, the depth chart is thin from the jump in Baltimore. Just Justice Hill stands in Ali’s way with Keaton Mitchell recovering from a devastating mid-season knee injury. If he can prove to have more juice than Hill, he could earn the RB2 role right away.
Team Depth Chart
Expected Role: Developmental Running Back
Depth Chart via Fantasy Pros
Fantasy Impact
Ali is my most-owned player throughout all of dynasty. While he doesn’t stand out among his RB peers in the class, he did land in a sneaky favorable spot while also boasting an impressive production profile.
Perhaps the best part about Ali is two-fold. First, he’s basically free. You can grab him in the last round of your rookie drafts or off the waiver wire. Second, Ali has a reasonable path to work in year one. You’ll know right away if he has value, in one of the best backfields for fantasy in the league.
Check out our 2024 Rookie Rankings Page for a full breakdown of this rookie class.
