When Ray Rice entered the NFL, it was as the 55th overall pick in the draft by the Ravens.
Rice went on to wear No. 27 in Baltimore and the running back drafted by Baltimore with the 55th overall pick will be wearing the same number. J.K. Dobbins isn’t doing it because of the success Rice had with the Ravens before his career came to an end in the wake of the release of a video showing him punching his then-fiancee in an Atlantic City elevator.
Dobbins wore No. 2 at Ohio State said on Thursday that he chose his new number as a tribute to his father, who died when Dobbins was 15 years old.
“I always wore it in pee wee football. It was my dad’s number,” Dobbins said, via the team’s website. “So the reason why I wear No. 27 is to honor my father.”
Dobbins said he’s aware of the highs and lows of Rice’s time with the Ravens and hopes to build his own legacy with the team. He did note that the Ravens won a Super Bowl the “last time someone wore that number” and that he’d like that to be part of the legacy that’s now under construction.
