Lamar Jackson ended up playing exactly like many people thought
he would when he was finally inserted into the lineup in Week
11. The Ravens were running on fumes after a three-game losing
streak. Joe Flacco was hurt, the offense was mired in the muck,
and Baltimore knew that inserting Jackson was the only chance
they had to dig out of a middling season. Jackson not only gave
them a spark, he displayed all the elite playmaking skills that
earned him a Heisman Trophy, and almost single handedly willed
the Ravens to an upset of the Chargers in the wildcard round.
As expected, Jackson played like a quarterback that was picked 30th
in the 1st round instead of 3rd. He showed little as a passer, struggling
with accuracy and touch. But what he lacked throwing the ball he
more than made up for on the ground. He was able to take advantage
of some talent deficient defenses as he scored 18+ fantasy points
in all seven of his regular season starts. With 17 rushing attempts
a game, and a total of 697 yards and four touchdowns, he saw near
RB1-type usage down the stretch.
Now that the Ravens have begun to build this offense around him
with the hiring of coordinator Greg Roman and the offensive additions
via the draft and free agency, can we expect these numbers to
continue? I’m going have to say no. Although he was a dynamite
weapon, we’ve seen young quarterbacks have success running
the ball early in their careers. But no matter the talent or ability
level, running a quarterback 15+ times a game isn’t a viable
long-term strategy. Teams either begin to adjust their strategy,
or injuries occur. Either way, Jackson struggled mightily for
much of the game against the Chargers before flashing late in
the 2nd half. He was held to a season low 9 attempts for 54 yards
and his erratic passing was a reason the team was down for most
of the game in the first place. There is no doubt in my mind Jackson
is going to continue to give fits to defenses, but I’m not
sure he can develop enough as a passer in one offseason to be
a realistic fantasy starter.
After a mostly successful eight-year career with the Saints, Ingram
joins the Ravens as their likely RB1. Ingram has a little less wear
and tear than a typical 29 year-old running back, as he was in committees
for much of his career, especially the last few seasons. Even after
missing four games due to suspension, and being slowly phased out
of the offense in favor of the more dynamic Alvin Kamara, Ingram
held onto fringe RB2 value in 2018. Ingram is a fantastic fit for
what the Baltimore offense is trying to do. He’s a one-cut
runner that has versatility as a pass receiver, and will benefit
greatly from the amount of attention defensive ends and linebackers
are sure to pay Lamar Jackson. We’ve seen time and time again
running backs reap the rewards of having quarterbacks who are dangerous
runners. Heck, Gus Edwards lived on it the second half of the year!
Ingram is much more talented than the former undrafted player from
Rutgers, and should easily return solid RB2 value. Healthy, hungry,
and on great offense for his skill-set, Ingram is a solid value
pick.
As part of their offensive shakeup, Edwards was Inserted into
the starting lineup with Lamar Jackson in Week 11. He then went
on a mini tear over the next seven weeks, piling up five games
of 80+ yards on the ground to go along with two touchdowns. It
was an out-of-nowhere performance that likely saved a few fantasy
seasons, but will likely be the highlight of his career. The Ravens
signed Mark Ingram to be their starter, and drafted home run hitter
Justice Hill in the 4th round of the draft. Kenneth Dixon is also
still kicking around on the roster as well. Edwards will find
his way into a few carries a game, but as a near zero in the passing
game ( I mean that literally, he only had 2 receptions on 2 targets
in 11 games) and Jackson accounting for a host of rushes a game,
Edwards doesn’t have a clear patch to touches. His value
lies in his volume, and there just won’t be enough there
to be more than an Ingram handcuff or end of the roster stash.
Short of a rash of injuries to the guys above him I don’t
think Justice Hill will nearly see the ball enough to make a fantasy
impact, but I want to mention him because he gives the Raven running
game a dimension they’ve hoped to get out of Kenneth Dixon.
Hill was an impressive playmaking force for Oklahoma State during
his three-year career, averaging well above 5-yards per carry
and scoring 31 touchdowns. Unlike Ingram and Edwards, Hill is
incredibly shifty, and sudden as a runner. He runs with an entirely
different style and will give the offense a very different look
when he touches the ball. He doesn’t have the size to be
a big volume back, but given a shot in a legit timeshare, he could
have upside value. He’s the type of back I love to add to
my teams late in the draft with hopes of late season juice.
No offense to Snead or any of the other Ravens’ receivers,
but if you’re looking for fantasy starters in this passing
game you’ve reached troubling levels of desperation. Entering
his second season with the Ravens, I’d call Snead a “nice
player”. He produced a decent 62-651 line last season, but
with an offense designed to run the ball 30 times a game, and
a quarterback who struggles on short and intermediate throws,
Snead is just not going to see enough production to be a fantasy
asset. You’ll likely add him at some point in the season
when you have a rough bye week, or your receivers have all gotten
hurt, but I can’t see spending too much thought pondering
how to acquire any of the pass receivers on this team.
Baltimore replaced a John Brown with a Marquise Brown, but other
than changing the nameplate in the locker, it’s going to
be hard to tell them apart. Slightly built, but with speed to
burn, Marquise Brown was the lightning bolt on the other side
of numerous big plays for the Oklahoma Sooners the last few seasons.
“Hollywood” gives the Ravens a lid-lifting deep threat
that pairs well with Lamar Jackson’s cannon of an arm. Defenses
who risk stacking the box with too many guys will be susceptible
to Brown’s explosive potential. While Marquise is a fantastic
schematic and strategic fit for this offense, let’s tempter
our fantasy expectations. This is still a run first (and second)
team, and it remains to be seen if Brown can return to form after
missing much of the offseason recovering from a foot injury. This
is the player, who during Week 9 your opponent will be forced
to start, and after doing virtually nothing before or after, will
have 3 catches for 110 yards and two touchdowns and directly be
responsible for your crushing defeat.
What do you get when you have two tight ends fighting for scraps
on a low volume passing offense? You get little in the way of
fantasy value. Even at such a volatile, shallow fantasy position
like tight end, neither Edwards nor Hayden Hurst are worth much
of a look. Edwards had an impressive rookie line of 34-552-3,
and did have most of his best statistical games when Jackson was
inserted into the lineup, but he saw more than 5 targets only
two times all season and this is with Hurst missing 7 games due
to injury. With both guys healthy again, I just can’t see
there being enough opportunities to go around to make them fantasy
relevant as more than a TE2.
