Where should you consider drafting Baltimore Ravens wide receivers?

Sorting through all that is the Ravens’ revamped WR corps.

In recent history, the Baltimore Ravens have been the crypt keepers for fantasy football wide receivers – it’s where they go to die. The Ravens have been a stellar organization because they consistently draft players whose skill sets fit their system, yet wide receiver remains an elusive hit-and-miss proposition with more misses than hits.

The Ravens have loaded up on players who were high draft prospects coming out of college that have had mixed results as pros, including tripling down in the offseason to give Lamar Jackson the array of weapons he has been missing over the years. Can this group turn a weakness for most of the last decade into a strength?

Fantasy football pros and cons: Kyle Pitts vs. George Kittle vs. Dalton Schultz

Will the winner of this exercise surprise you?

It is widely viewed in ranking fantasy football tight ends that Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs and Mark Andrews of the Baltimore Ravens are in a class of their own atop the tight end depth chart.

The question then becomes, who is in the next tier of tight ends once the top two guys are gone? Before we get into it, Darren Waller is the wild card here. He goes anywhere from the third to sixth tight end chosen, on average, depending upon the ADP source. A more casual league typically translates to an earlier selection, likely due in part to name recognition.

The next three are very different athletes, but each can make an argument to be included near the top. George Kittle, of the San Francisco 49ers, has an impressive track record of fantasy success. The Atlanta FalconsKyle Pitts is arguably the most explosive talent ever at the position. Dallas Cowboys tight end Dalton Schultz is so valued by the organization that he was hit with the franchise tag rather than risk losing him.

Is there more than meets the eye to Baltimore’s receiving corps?

On the surface, Baltimore’s receiving corps doesn’t offer much for fantasy. Is that accurate, though?

Despite being the first wide receiver to top 1,000 yards for the Baltimore Ravens since Mike Wallace in 2016, Marquise Brown was traded to the Arizona Cardinals on draft day in exchange for a first-round pick. That move can be interpreted in one of two ways: Either the team was convinced Brown wasn’t a true No. 1 receiver, or Rashod Bateman is ready to take a leap.

Perhaps it’s a bit of both.

Regardless, between the Brown deal and Sammy Watkins signing with the Green Bay Packers, the Ravens find themselves minus two of their top three receivers in terms of yardage from 2021. Of course, the caveat to that is the presence of tight end Mark Andrews (107-1,361-9), who is the real No. 1 option in Baltimore no matter what’s happening outside.

Still, Brown and Watkins were collectively targeted 195 times last season, and those passes will have to go somewhere else in 2022. Let’s see what options quarterback Lamar Jackson will have as he enters the final year of his rookie contract.

Fantasy football team previews: AFC North

A team-by-team fantasy football outlook from the AFC North.

The 2022 fantasy football draft season is starting to heat up now that we’ve gone through the height of free agency and all of the chosen rookies have been assigned to their professional home cities.

The landscape has changed a great deal for many franchises after a whirlwind offseason, and our divisional preview series will help you stay on top of all of the changes to date.

AFC divisional previews

East | North | South | West

NFC divisional previews

East | North | South | West

Fantasy Football Market Report: Week 18

Trending in the right and wrong directions to close out the 2021 season.

The 2021 season has been one of the most frustrating in the history of fantasy football. COVID-19 had an impact last season in terms of forcing games to be shifted from one week to another and messing with lineups, but the NFL made it clear prior to the start of this season that, while there could be flexibility within a week to switch games (Tuesday Night Football was a thing again this year), if you had an outbreak, it would be on the individual organizations to play. This time around, the show must go on.

The balance of power shifted completely as outbreaks hit teams. Quarterbacks who had never started before made starts. Entire position rooms went down – it’s hard to win you start your third left tackle or fifth defensive end or cornerback.

Hopefully, by the beginning of the 2022 season, this global nightmare will finally be behind us, but a lot of fantasy owners have seen their seasons come to an abrupt end due to COVID. For those who weren’t able to dodge the loss of key players at key time, just know you weren’t alone.

Here is the Week 18 Fantasy Market Report:

Fantasy Football Risers

RB Elijah Mitchell, San Francisco 49ers

Mitchell isn’t a surprise riser – he’s posted five 100-yard rushing games – but in his last four games has become a workhorse like no other back in the league. In those four games, he has 97 carries for 399 yards and has scored three touchdowns. If the 49ers get into the playoffs, which is a distinct possibility, if they’re able to control the ground game like they have with Mitchell, the 49ers will be a hard out in the postseason.

TE Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens

There is always discussion about who will fill out the Tight End Mount Rushmore along with Travis Kelce, George Kittle and Darren Waller – the accepted Big 3. Andrews has always been in consideration to be the fourth guy, but he has really stepped it up, especially in the last month. He has 99 catches for 1,276 yards and nine touchdowns, including five 100-yard games, but in the last month he may have cemented his spot. In his last four games, he has caught 35 passes for 465 yards and three touchdowns – planting his Mount Rushmore flag for next season.

WR Cyril Grayson, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

A guy who didn’t play college football, he only has 10 receptions, but has gained 212 yards, including a 62-yard catch and touchdown receptions of 33 and 50 yards. With Chris Godwin out due to injury and Antonio Brown gone altogether, somebody has to step up, and Grayson may well be that speed option by default. Tom Brady has a history of turning receivers into fantasy darlings, and Grayson could be the next in a long line of them.

RB Austin Ekeler, Los Angeles Chargers

Ekeler is a guy who is in fantasy lineups almost every week because he’s a poor man’s Alvin Kamara – or at least he was. He has just one 100-yard rushing game and hasn’t hit 70 receiving yards in a game, but it’s the body of work that matters here. He has scored 18 touchdowns (11 rushing, seven receiving), has a touchdown in each of his last six games and, over that six-game span, he has scored nine TDs. If you had Ekeler and didn’t win a fantasy championship, it wasn’t his fault. He gave you what you needed to be successful.

WR Brandin Cooks, Houston Texans

Cooks has become a very poor man’s Davante Adams. Everyone knows the ball is coming his way, but he didn’t have Aaron Rodgers throwing it to him. He has 130 targets (next highest on the Texans is 53). He has 87 receptions (next highest is 30). He has 1,011 yards (next highest is 379). He has six TD receptions (next highest is three). When most would give up on him, over his last three games, he has 22 receptions for 269 yards and three touchdowns – stepping up for those who showed faith.

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Fantasy Football Fallers

QB Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons

His fantasy contribution as a rusher is negligible. What you get from him is passing yards and garbage-time touchdowns. That hasn’t happened this year, and it has gotten worse as time has gone by. The Falcons didn’t get in the QB run at the start of the draft and were willing to ride it out with Ryan – known for 300-yard games is losses. In his last eight games, he not only doesn’t have a single 300-yard passing game, Ryan has been under 200 in five of them, hasn’t thrown more than one touchdown in any game, and has no touchdown passes in four contests. Those are the kind of stat lines you get from COVID replacements, not a guy who is a borderline Hall of Fame candidate.

RB Ezekiel Elliott, Dallas Cowboys

He has been on this list before, but it has been because the expectations of a player of Elliott’s stature are pronounced. Unlike other running back disappointments, he has played in every game and never got benched in fantasy lineups. Scoring 12 touchdowns is great, but it has come with a price for a top-five pick. He has caught 46 passes, but they have gone for just 284 yards. He has 25 or fewer receiving yards in 13 games. What makes it an issue is that, in his last 10 games, his high for rushing yards is 52. Still in the heavy-lifting portion of his contract, this hasn’t been acceptable for some time. His stock for next year has a floor for the first time.

QB Carson Wentz, Indianapolis Colts

Fantasy football doesn’t care if you win or lose. Guys like Matt Ryan and Matthew Stafford have become fantasy gods by having a brutal defense that provides fluffed numbers late in games (the Roethlisberger Effect). Wentz has a reputation for being capable of posting solid numbers. In his first nine games, he threw two or more touchdowns in seven of them and found his way into a lot of fantasy lineups. In his last seven games, he has one or no TDs and has thrown for 180 or fewer yards in five of them. Those who bought in during the first half of the season have been forced to rethink their position. While his team has been successful, he has stunk out loud from the fantasy perspective.

WR D.J. Moore, Carolina Panthers

When the season started, it seemed like a lot of the same with Moore. Through his first four games, Moore caught 30 passes for 398 yards and three touchdowns. That was when things were good. In 12 games, he has caught 56 passes for 672 yards and one touchdown. As bad as things have been, even those averages are above his last three games – 14 catches for 132 yards and no touchdowns. Moore was brought onto fantasy rosters with the knowledge that he was going to have issues at quarterback. But, he has had that before and thrived. This time around? Not so much.

QB Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars

Lawrence came in with the can’t-miss franchise tag of a “can’t miss” prospect – the best since Andrew Luck, many postulated. In his first game, he threw for 332 yards and three touchdowns and the expectations suddenly went off the hook. In the 15 games since, he has thrown just seven touchdowns (with 14 interceptions) and has thrown for fewer than 230 yards in 11 of them. In his last 11 games, he has accounted for just four touchdowns. It’s not his fault that the Jaguars are extremely limited talent-wise, but four touchdowns in 11 games is something you expect from a marginal tight end, not the No. 1 overall pick.

Which Ravens players are worth drafting in fantasy football?

Expectations of fantasy-relevant Ravens for 2021.

After averaging an NFL-best 33.2 points per game in 2019, along with 407.6 yards, the Baltimore Ravens saw those numbers slip to 29.3 points (seventh) and 363.1 yards (19th).

In response to that regression, the Ravens added free-agent wideout Sammy Watkins (37-421-2 w/ KC) and first-round receiver Rashod Bateman, which they hope will elevate dual-threat Lamar Jackson as a passer. Still, there are a lot of unknowns entering the 2021 fantasy football season, so let’s look at Baltimore’s offense.

Lamar Jackson fantasy football outlook

From a purely statistical standpoint, Jackson’s second full year as a starter wasn’t that different from his first. In 2019, he averaged 208.5 yards passing, 80.4 yards rushing and 2.9 combined TDs per game. Last year, Jackson posted 183.8 yards passing, 67 yards rushing and 2.2 combined scores per contest. Those shortfalls add up over a full season, though, and it was the difference between elite fantasy production and fringe QB1 status.

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Expect a bit of a bounce back from Jackson this year as Baltimore’s investments in the passing game (four high-round picks in three years) and offensive line (signing Kevin Zeitler and Alejandro Villanueva) should help diversify their attack. Don’t expect much of a philosophical shift, however, as what makes the Ravens dangerous is the threat of Jackson making things happen with his legs.

Could we see a little more throwing and a little less running? Sure, but at age 24 there’s little reason to rein in Jackson, who has never missed a game due to injury. Even with two documented cases of COVID-19, one of which cost him a game in 2020, Jackson is draftable as a midrange QB1.

J.K. Dobbins fantasy football outlook

One of the great mysteries of last season was why it took roughly two months to give Dobbins steady work — he averaged 4.2 carries per game in his first six and 12.1 over his final nine. The Ohio State product showed great burst, averaging 6.0 yards per carry as a rookie and scoring in each of his final half-dozen games. While he continued to share snaps with Gus Edwards, Dobbins’ numbers over that stretch project out to 1,403 yards and 20 TDs over a 17-game campaign.

Those numbers are still based off modest usage, and if Dobbins can carve out a larger slice they could improve quickly. It’s a dubious proposition to rely on the Ravens to change up a model that has led the NFL in rushing the past two years, so Dobbins is best drafted as a lower-end RB2, but there’s top-10 upside.

Gus Edwards fantasy football outlook

Edwards has quietly carved out three solid seasons as part of Baltimore’s running back committee, averaging 717 yards and 3.3 rushing scores on a 5.2 YPC clip. He’s been a nonfactor as a receiver, though, with just 18 career receptions, which figures to limit his usage to running situations.

While the departure of Mark Ingram leaves 72 carries to be redistributed, the smart money suggests most of those will go to Dobbins. Consider Edwards a decent fourth/fifth fantasy RB and possible handcuff.

Sammy Watkins fantasy football outlook

After seven NFL campaigns, Watkins’ status as talented but oft-injured is well earned. The former fourth overall pick missed a combined 23 games over the last five seasons, which is a big reason Watkins has topped 1,000 yards just once as a pro.

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His yards-per-catch have declined each of those five seasons, though some of that can be chalked up to his role in a Chiefs offense that featured the NFL’s top field stretcher in Tyreek Hill. Still, the bloom is off the rose. Between the injuries and middling production, Watkins isn’t worth more than final-round flier consideration.

Marquise Brown fantasy football outlook

Brown returns as the nominal WR1 in Baltimore after leading the team in catches (58), yards (769) and TDs (8) last year. The diminutive wideout has shown he can get deep — only nine WRs had more receptions of 40-plus yards last year — but the consistency has yet to develop with Brown topping 100 yards in a game just twice. The question is whether adding talent around him will create more opportunities by opening things up or fewer looks in the NFL’s least-active passing attack; Baltimore threw 406 passes last season, 79 fewer than Tennessee, which ranked 30th.

To date, Hollywood has been more straight-to-DVD than summer blockbuster, but he’s arguably the only Ravens receiver worth drafting, albeit no more than a WR4.

Rashod Bateman fantasy football outlook

When Baltimore used the 27th pick in the ’21 draft on Bateman there were thoughts that he could be an immediate starter given his advanced route running and toughness after the catch. Unfortunately, Bateman went down early in camp and ended up undergoing core-muscle surgery that could keep him sidelined into October or later.

Even if there are no hiccups in his recovery, he might have trouble carving out a significant role as a rookie. He’s purely dynasty-league material.

Mark Andrews fantasy football outlook

Andrews led the Ravens with a 64-852-10 line in 2019 and was just slightly off Brown’s pace last season when he posted a 58-701-7 mark. His size has been a boon down in the red zone, and he has generally operated as Jackson’s go-to receiver.

Even with an influx of new and developing options there’s no reason to think that Andrews won’t continue to be a volume target. He deserves serious consideration once Travis Kelce and Darren Waller are off the board.