The talk in fantasy football circles this summer was all about Todd Monken taking over this Baltimore Ravens offense and the upside that was going to come with that. The optimism resulting from that discord resulted in three Ravens receivers being drafted in most leagues — managers were flocking for any exposure to this unit.
With Odell Beckham Jr. battling an injury, it stands to reason that targets will be more condensed than last week. Who can you plug into your lineup should he sit?
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Latest News Surrounding Odell Beckham Jr.
Beckham was featured early in the Week 2 game plan against the Bengals (three catches on four targets for 29 yards) after a quiet Week 1, but a tweaked ankle forced him out of the game.
MORE: Fantasy Football Week 3 Cheat Sheet
He is less than two months from celebrating his 31st birthday, fueling the thought that he is past his prime and that this injury could linger. (He missed all of 2022, sat out three games in 2021, and was a DNP nine times in 2020.)
Will Beckham Play This Week?
OBJ didn’t take a single rep in practice leading into Sunday’s matchup with the Colts, and it seems more likely than not that the veteran receiver will sit out this week. The Ravens don’t have their bye week until early December, making a cautious approach likely as this team has bigger goals this season and won’t get a break for another two months.
What Does This Mean for the Week 3 Rankings?
Beckham’s projected impact on this offense was minimal, so there were no major changes made in our PFN Consensus Rankings. This does elevate the floor of Zay Flowers, a rookie who cracks my top 25 at the position in this matchup and could move up a few spots should we lack clarity on Joe Burrow when lineups lock.
For reference, I currently have him ranked just ahead of both Washington receivers and DJ Moore this week.
ZAY FLOWERS 😱😱😱
pic.twitter.com/pJIbLbiiRo— PFF (@PFF) September 17, 2023
Flowers’ target share dropped from 48% in Week 1 without Mark Andrews to 15.2% last week with Andrews making his season debut. I think we can safely assume that his role is somewhere between those two showings, and that is enough volume in Monken’s offense to make him a fine WR2 this week and moving forward.