OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- Baltimore Ravens running back Terrance West received a vote of confidence at the end of March, when coach John Harbaugh placed him atop the depth chart.
But a bigger indicator that West remains the Ravens' top back came last week, when the Ravens didn't draft a running back. This has been a continuation of a favorable offseason for West, who is coming off a season in which he set career highs in rushing yards (774), carries (193) and touchdowns (six).
West proved to be a winner in January, March and April. Here's a look at how everything has fallen in place for West since the season ended:
Hiring of Greg Roman: The Ravens added Roman in January and gave him the official title of senior offensive assistant/tight-ends coach. The more appropriate job description is getting Baltimore's ground game back on track, which can only help West.
In Roman's four seasons as 49ers offensive coordinator (2011-14), San Francisco produced the second-most rushing yards in the NFL (only the Seattle Seahawks had more). As the Bills' offensive coordinator in 2015, Buffalo had the league's top-ranked ground game.
The rushing numbers at each place were inflated by running quarterbacks. But, in those five seasons, running backs under Roman averaged 4.3 yards per carry. That ranked in the top 10 over that span.
Suspension of Kenneth Dixon: This was supposed to be the season in which Dixon would take a leap forward. That got derailed in March when Dixon was suspended for the first four games of the 2017 season after violating the league's policy on performance-enhancing drugs.
It's a situation where Dixon's mistake becomes West's big gain. In the final six games of 2016, West was splitting snaps in the backfield, getting 43.2 percent of the touches (compared to Dixon's 47.3 percent). Now, West is the clear-cut top back.
While free-agent addition Danny Woodhead will get his share of playing time, West should get a bulk of the carries for the first quarter of the season. That's important to note because three of Baltimore's first four games are against defenses that ranked in the bottom half of the NFL in rushing yards allowed: the Cincinnati Bengals (No. 21), Cleveland Browns (No. 31), Jacksonville Jaguars (No. 19) and Pittsburgh Steelers (No. 13).
No addition in the draft or free agency: The Ravens passed on signing a big-name veteran in free agency such as Adrian Peterson or Jamaal Charles despite producing the NFL's third-fewest rushing yards the past two seasons. Baltimore then chose not to take a running back with its seven picks even though this was considered a deep draft for the position.
There were 26 running backs selected in this draft, which ranked as the third-highest for a position group. Cornerbacks and wide receivers were the only positions at which more prospects were drafted.
The Ravens were also only one of seven teams not to draft a running back. It ended a streak of three consecutive drafts of Baltimore taking a running back in the fourth round.
Of those backs, Dixon is suspended, Lorenzo Taliaferro has struggled to stay healthy and Buck Allen has not shown explosiveness as a runner. That's why West is the heavy favorite to be the Ravens' starting running back heading into the 2017 season.