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RB Willis McGahee, Baltimore Ravens

HT: 6-0, WT: 228, Born: 10-20-1981, College: Miami, Drafted: Round 1, Pick 23

2008 Projections

2007 Game Summaries

Week 1 - McGahee performed reasonably well in his first start for the Ravens, though his owners were likely expecting better production given the propensity of the Bengals defense to surrender lots of yards on the ground. The Bengals attacked the line of scrimmage all night, and the average Ravens offensive line frequently did not have an answer. McGahee was stuffed for two yards or less on eight of his 19 carries, but he did make some nice gains when he was able to escape initial contact. His involvement in the passing game was limited to three receptions in the third quarter, largely because he was forced to stay in pass protection for much of the game to protect McNair from the ferocious Ravens pass rush. One of McNair's fumbles was partly McGahee's fault, as the running back apparently forgot to receive the handoff on a first quarter sweep.

Week 2 - McGahee's second game as a Ravens was very consistent, although not explosive. He ran the ball for 26 times (seven more than in week one), but didn't have a double digit gain. McGahee ran with a good mix of power and speed, but didn't break many tackles and didn't have quite enough burst to ever get past the Jets' secondary. He scored the first receiving touchdown of his career on a two yard swing pass late in the first quarter. McGahee had a 3.7 yards per carry average and caught both of the passes thrown his way.

Week 3 - McGahee had another good game on the ground, gaining 98 yards on 21 carries for a 4.7 average. His yardage was somewhat inconsistent though, as he had a long of 37 yards, but was also tackled for a loss on a few occasions. McGahee continues to see a few looks in the passing game, and he turned all four of them in this contest into receptions totaling 23 yards.

Week 4 - McGahee found a lot of success running the ball straight at the Browns. He had a great 28 yard run late in the first half when, on a counter play, he nearly outran the entire Browns defense. Despite his success on the ground, McGahee was largely a non-issue in the passing game.

Week 5 - McGahee carried the ball 22 times for 88 yards, while catching seven passes for 48. He was targeted frequently in the passing game for a total of nine times, though these were all on screens and dump off passes. He did not show a lot of explosiveness, but ran hard up the middle and maximized his yardage against a 49ers defense that was stacking the box.

Week 6 - McGahee had a better time running the ball in the first half, when the Rams were still in the game, and weren't keying solely on him. He ran for one touchdown, and had a second one called back due to a penalty, so he was as involved as can be in the red zone offense. As a pass catcher, McGahee is fine, but is only a dump off option for the Ravens, hence the low reception to yards total.

Week 7 - McGahee was swarmed by the Buffalo defense and had little room to run early in the contest. McGahee started to get on track in the second quarter. 39 of his 40 first half yards came in the second quarter. McGahee kept the momentum rolling in the second half. His 46 yard burst on the opening possession of the second half got Baltimore on the board. On the play, McGahee flattened the safety with a textbook stiff-arm and was off to the races. McGahee left the game to get an IV during the second half, but was able to return.

McGahee caught two passes, but gained only one yard.

Week 9 - McGahee had only six yards on six carries through most of the first half until he broke off a 33 yard touchdown run with less then two minutes left in the first half. The Ravens got down big in this game early on and were down 35 points when McGahee broke off his touchdown run. He only had 11 yards in the second half as the Ravens' offense was unable to do anything in the second half. It was reported he sustained a concussion late in the game when he got a knee to the head trying to pass block.

Week 10 - McGahee had a decent outing, tallying 70 total yards and a touchdown, the only one for the Baltimore Ravens on the day. The Ravens leaned heavy on McGahee in the first half, but needed to play catch up with the pass in the second half.

Week 11 - McGahee found a lot of success running directly into the center of the Browns defense. Most of his biggest gains of the day, including a 24 yard run in the third quarter, came running right between the tackles. Most of the time, he was able to shed the first tackler and get into the second level of the defense. McGahee was a nearly non-factor in the passing game, catching only two passes.

Week 12 - McGahee had a tough time getting anything going against a strong San Diego rush defense. His longest run was 13 yards, and he only averaged 3.5 yards on his 17 attempts. He had a one yard touchdown run in the second quarter. McGahee's opportunities were limited both by his ineffectiveness and the game situation, which found the Ravens behind by multiple scores for a significant portion of the game. The Ravens only ran on 38% of their plays.

Week 13 - McGahee ran the ball very effectively against the Patriots on Monday night. He was able to gain 138 yards on the night. Many of the runs he had were very inspired and energetic. He showed great vision and push at the end of plays.

Week 14 - McGahee had a tough time against the Colts defense. He ran passionately, but was frequently met at the line of scrimmage. McGahee definitely had to earn all 45 of his yards. The game situation also hurt his chances of success, as the score was way out of hand early on.

Week 15 - McGahee was once again the Ravens workhorse running back, rushing the ball 29 times at an average of 3.6 yards per run. McGahee ran better as the game went on, gaining his longest run of the game of 19 yards in overtime.

Week 16 - McGahee left the game over only five carries and did not return. It was reported that he had injured ribs that weren't taking well to treatment.