Ravens FB Named Most Under-Appreciated Player
With the modern NFL becoming more and more pass-heavy, the fullback position has declined to the point of irrelevance. Long gone are the days of players like John Riggins, Christian Okoye and Mike Alstott running people over at will. Luckily, though, the Baltimore Ravens have one of the last great players at the position.
Patrick Ricard has spent his entire seven-year career to this point in Baltimore, and even though he's far from the flashiest player on offense, he is an important cog in the machine. The 30-year-old is an imposing blocker at 6-3 and 305 pounds, and he can be a receiving threat when needed.
As a key part of the Ravens' league-best ground game, which added former Offensive Player of the Year Derrick Henry earlier this offseason, Ricard is deserving of far more recognition than he actually gets. In fact, Tyler Sullivan of CBS Sports believes Ricard is the most underappreciated player on the Ravens' roster.
"Fullbacks are a dying breed in the NFL, but Ricard continues to be a key cog for the Baltimore Ravens," Sullivan writes. "The 30-year-old has reached the Pro Bowl four times throughout his career and is coming off a 2023 campaign where he was named second-team All-Pro.
"While Ricard has already proven himself to be among the best fullbacks in the league, he is currently gearing up for a 2024 season where he'll be paving the way for not only Lamar Jackson in the running game but also star running back Derrick Henry. For as much success as Henry is expected to have, it'll be, in part, thanks to Ricard."
Last season, Ricard played just 39 percent of the Ravens' offensive snaps, his lowest rate since 2019. With Baltimore likely placing even more emphasis on the ground game this season, it's fair to expect that rate to go up rather than down.
JON ALFANO