Midway through practice Friday, Keaton Mitchell lined up in the slot and was cleared for takeoff. The Ravens running back was running a vertical route, and he had to get by undrafted rookie inside linebacker Chandler Martin quickly. This was a red-zone drill; Mitchell would run out of space quickly.

Mitchell, one of the Ravens’ fastest players, didn’t need long to make Martin look slow. He separated easily on his slot fade, looked back for the 15-yard pass from quarterback Devin Leary and got both feet in for a touchdown.

After a disappointing 2024, Mitchell is getting back up to speed during organized team activities. Fully recovered from the left knee injury that ended his rookie season and sapped him of his trademark burst, Mitchell could add even more firepower to the NFL’s most explosive offense this year.

“Last year, probably, you could tell he was thinking through the knee [injury] a little bit, it seemed like,” coach John Harbaugh said last week. “I haven’t seen any of that so far this spring, so it’s good to see.”

Mitchell averaged 8.4 yards per carry in his debut season, ripping off at least one 20-yard run in six of his eight games. He nearly reached 21 mph on his two breakaway touchdown runs, according to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats, the fastest times of any Ravens ball carrier in 2023.

But, after tearing his ACL in mid-December that season, Mitchell wasn’t cleared to return to action until November last year. His workload was limited, and his production was meager. Mitchell appeared in just five games, finishing with more offensive snaps (36) than rushing yards (30). He averaged just 2 yards per carry, and only two of his 15 runs went for first downs.

Without an injury to rehabilitate this spring, Mitchell has enjoyed a restorative offseason. He said he was running as fast as 22.2 mph when he first reported for offseason workouts, then got up to a personal-best 22.4 mph a month ago when he was racing wide receiver Anthony Miller inside the Ravens’ indoor facility.

“Really, I wasn’t planning on running that fast, but I guess I just came back,” Mitchell said.

The Ravens can afford to pick their spots with Mitchell this season. Derrick Henry finished second in the NFL in rushing yards last year, and Justice Hill is a do-everything backup. Quarterback Lamar Jackson adds another ever-present run threat.

As coordinator Todd Monken carves out a role for him on the offense, Mitchell could push for more snaps on special teams. He returned five kickoffs last season, averaging 31.2 yards per attempt, and said he aspires to have a Devin Hester-esque impact as a returner.

“In college, they didn’t really let me do too much of kick return, but it is like a natural instinct,” Mitchell said. Under the NFL’s “dynamic” kickoffs, returns are “like an outside-zone play for a running back, so it is kind of natural.”

With his left knee feeling normal again, Mitchell is eager to get revved up again. Harbaugh said Friday that he’s got high hopes for a bounce-back season.

“He looks way better than he did at the end of last season, I think, just as far as movement,” Harbaugh said. “I expect him to be really good.”

Taking attendance

After Jackson missed his third day of OTAs this week, Harbaugh sidestepped a question about whether his attendance for the Ravens’ voluntary workouts was contract related. Jackson’s deal runs through 2027, but the team is interested in signing him to an extension.

“Lamar, the day he was out here [last week], played great,” Harbaugh said. “I could see he was in great shape, threw the ball great, made the right reads, knew the offense in an excellent kind of way. I thought he was fantastic. And when he comes back and practices, when that happens, I expect him to play at that level. That’s what you measure. You measure, for any player, how they play. I’m not measuring, really, the attendance.”

A handful of other players were missing Friday: running backs Rasheen Ali, Henry and Hill; wide receivers DeAndre Hopkins, Rashod Bateman, Zay Flowers and Miller; rookie offensive lineman Emery Jones Jr. (shoulder); center Tyler Linderbaum; defensive lineman Nnamdi Madubuike; outside linebackers Kyle Van Noy and Odafe Oweh; inside linebacker Jake Hummel (personal); and safeties Kyle Hamilton and Sanoussi Kane.

The Ravens will hold four open practices next week, then a two-day mandatory minicamp June 17-18.

End zone

• Wide receiver Devontez Walker had three touchdown catches Friday, continuing his strong play in OTAs. He came back to one pass to shield off cornerback Nate Wiggins on one red-zone catch near the front pylon, created late separation from cornerback T.J. Tampa on a back-shoulder fade for another score, and ran by undrafted rookie corner Keyon Martin on a vertical route before making an over-the-shoulder catch in the end zone.
• Harbaugh said rookie kicker Tyler Loop made every one of his handful of field goal attempts, including a 60-yarder that he nailed easily.
• Defensive lineman Travis Jones had an interception on the Ravens’ first drop-back of 11-on-11 action, dropping into coverage and tipping a pass from backup quarterback Cooper Rush to himself. The play came in a period meant to simulate hurry-up field goal operations, and left tackle Ronnie Stanley didn’t appear to take kindly to the defense getting in the way.
• Rookie safety Malaki Starks had his first interception of open practices, picking off a red-zone pass from Rush as he scrambled to his left. Rush appeared to be looking for tight end Mark Andrews but instead threw it to the first-round pick near the goal line.
• Undrafted rookie cornerback Reuben Lowery had his second interception in as many days, taking a red-zone pass that Leary threw right to him and running it back for what likely would’ve been nearly a 100-yard touchdown return. Wiggins also added an interception near the end of practice on an overthrown pass.