Sean Payton had a clear vision for Adam Randall, and it wasn’t hard to see why. The Broncos coach liked the Clemson offensive weapon enough to call him a “pet cat,” imagined him as a versatile “Joker” piece, and even described Randall’s catch radius as a “superpower.” He flew staff across the country twice to work him out, and the plan from the start was bigger than simply handing him the ball.
That kind of usage points to a player who can move all over the formation - fullback, tight end, receiver, slot, even outside - and make his living catching the ball from an internal alignment. What it does not suggest is a back asked to take handoffs into the gut 15 or 20 times. That’s “not really what we have in mind,” Payton said.
The Ravens, though, have spent camp pushing Randall into the opposite end of the job description. They’ve made him run the ball, especially from under center.
They’ve tested him in pass protection. They’ve kept loading him up with the sort of dirty work near the line of scrimmage that forces a player to get uncomfortable fast.
Saturday’s preseason debut was more of the same, and even if the usage looked limited on the surface, it was another strong step for the final pick of the fifth round.
“Just that I can go out there and do it,” Randall said of what he was trying to show in a busy preseason debut. “Just going out there and being composed.
Some guys get into this environment, and they freak out and do not trust their technique, or they start doing different things. I just wanted to show that I can go out there and do my job [at a] high level."
He was targeted only once, and the Ravens didn’t appear to have much designed for him as a receiver. That wasn’t the point.
They already know he can adjust, flip his hips, and make the kind of acrobatic catches that made him such an intriguing prospect. Saturday was about the other side of the package.
Randall finished with a team-high 13 touches and 12 carries, though he missed part of an early drive while being checked out in the medical tent. Nine of those carries came under center, and despite how foreign that can look for a college player, he still averaged more than four yards per carry on those snaps and scored a touchdown.
That workload is not what his Sunday role is expected to look like, but it matters because the Ravens want him ready for the broader Joker job. They want him comfortable enough to take the handoff, absorb contact, and trust the run game part of the assignment before they ask him to do the stuff that will actually define him.
“I was just really, really impressed by how physical we were up front,” Randall said. “I think as running backs, we [rushed for] over 120 yards (27 carries for 128 yards).
So, I just love that we were really physical in the trenches, fast on the outside and making plays. That is just what the coaching staff has kind of instilled in us, and we are just going to continue to build on that."
The run game itself wasn’t all smooth for him. Randall didn’t look especially explosive carrying the ball, and early on it was easy to see how much of this is still new.
Getting the edge was a struggle at times. Still, that’s not really the assignment he’s being groomed for.
The more natural fit is catching the ball in space, where he can work against lighter defenders and create mismatches.
Even with that in mind, Randall wasn’t thrilled with every rep.
"I am kind of disappointed in myself that I had one play where I got tackled by one guy,” Randall explained. “My dad has just always instilled in me just to not let one person bring you down and be able to keep your legs moving and continue to finish runs and fall forward."
For now, this was only the opening act. The duties he’s headed toward in the regular season should look a lot different from this preseason trial, especially with Derrick Henry and Justice Hill ahead of him on the depth chart. The whole point is to complement what they already do.
“It was magical,” Randall said. “So I’m appreciative, and plenty more to come."
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