Five Baltimore Ravens Primed for Breakout Years

3. RB Javorius “Buck” Allen

Dec 27, 2014; San Diego, CA, USA; Southern California Trojans tailback Javorius Allen (37) is pursued by Nebraska Cornhuskers linebacker Austin Williams (24) on a 44-yard touchdown run in the third quarter in the 2014 Holiday Bowl at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The Ravens selected Allen late in the fourth round of the 2015 NFL Draft. The USC product has the potential to be a draft steal.

Allen has really good size at 6-foot, 221 pounds, but the Ravens are hoping that he will begin to be more of a physical runner. But, he is a good lateral runner and looks really good in open space. He will be battling with second-year tailback Lorenzo Taliaferro for the backup running back position behind Forsett. A lot of people are expecting Allen to ultimately beat out Taliaferro.

Last season at USC, Allen carried the ball 276 times for a total of 1,489 yards and 11 scores. He also added some production catching the ball out of backfield, tallying 458 receiving yards and a touchdown.

Despite the special year that Forsett had a season ago, there still is the possibility that he can’t duplicate that same level of play. If that is the case, Allen could play an even bigger role in the Ravens’ offense this season.