Keaton Mitchell, undrafted rookie from ECU, makes impression on former Ravens' Pro Bowl RB Ray Rice

BALTIMORE - The Baltimore Ravens may have found lightning in a bottle.

Keaton Mitchell, a shifty and speedy running back, showcased his "home run" threat in Sunday's 37-3 win over the Seattle Seahawks.

The undrafted rookie free agent had nine carries for 138 yards. He also had a 40-yard touchdown run.

"I was impressed because, not only did he run the ball well, he ran between the tackles and when he hits that burst of speed, he's even getting more powerful and separating from defenders," former Ravens Pro Bowl running back Ray Rice said on WJZ's Purple Connection show. "You get a home run hitter, it's scary."

Rice, who played in three Pro Bowls and won a Super Bowl with the Ravens, said he had previously watched Mitchell in college at East Carolina, the same university that produced former NFL speedster Chris Johnson.

"When you get to make one guy miss, teams have to respect that," Rice said. "If you blitz the Ravens and the Ravens pick it up, and they run away from the blitz or run into it, there is nobody there in the secondary."    

Mitchell, at just 5 feet, 8 inches tall, runs the 40-yard dash in 4.37 seconds.

He gained 1,452 yards with 14 touchdowns as a sophomore at East Carolina before declaring for the NFL Draft.

After Mitchell was not selected, he fell into the lap of the Ravens.

His father Anthony Mitchell, an undrafted free agent, won a Super Bowl with the Ravens in 2000.

"My dad was undrafted, he came here," Mitchell said. "He told me to stay humble and do what I do and keep thanking God, and your time will come."

Mitchell's time is here. Now, he's working to get a larger workload.

"It's a guy that we were talking about making sure he got some chances and got some touches. It was something we were all hoping would happen," Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said. "To see him take off like that, you couldn't have predicted that. ... Between the tackles, breaking tackles, those kind of things — that was really great."

While he carried the ball nine times last week, Justice Hill had 13 carries and Gus Edwards added two touchdown runs.

"We saw him in preseason, and in practice, how explosive he was," Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson said. "The offensive line gave him a little run and he did the rest. He was hitting the holes and making crazy runs."

The Ravens (7-2) play host to AFC North rival Cleveland Browns on Sunday. The Browns' defense is sixth in the NFL in stopping the run.