The Baltimore Ravens will face the Cleveland Browns in Week 8. Here’s fantasy football start-sit advice for every Ravens skill player who has the potential to make a fantasy impact during the game.
Looking for more lineup advice? Head over to our Week 8 Fantasy Start-Sit Cheat Sheet, where we cover every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Lamar Jackson, QB
Jackson was close to perfect on Monday night, and with the Browns being one of two defenses yet to intercept a deep pass, I see no reason why he can’t continue to build his case for a second consecutive MVP award.
He has a 15+ yard carry in every game this season and a 40+ yard completion in five of seven games. There is nothing Jackson can’t do right now, and he’s going to rank as a top-three quarterback for me every week moving forward without much thought.
Derrick Henry, RB
Inevitable.
I really can’t think of any word better for Henry than that. He has a 50-yard run in three of his last four games and has scored in every game of his Ravens career. After years in Tennessee where the support around him put the game script in question by way of a one-sided score, Henry is thriving with a Super Bowl contender. There is no reason to think that changes any time soon.
Recent lead RBs vs. Cleveland:
- Chase Brown, Week 7: 53 yards and zero touchdowns on 17 touches
- Saquon Barkley, Week 6: 54 yards and zero touchdowns on 20 touches
Ask me if I’m concerned about that.
Not one bit. I wanted to plant the seed about this defense trending in the right direction, but it’s not actionable this week. Nothing is.
Inevitable.
Rashod Bateman, WR
Bateman has had his moments, but that doesn’t change that he is, at best, the third option in the most prolific rushing offense in the NFL. There will be spike games here and there, but the ability to project those weeks is next to impossible.
He doesn’t have much of a path to his role changing from that and that means more risk than reward for fantasy managers. He’s a stash and asset throw in desperate situations, given the rash of injuries at the position across the league, but with no teams on a bye this week, you likely have better options.
Zay Flowers, WR
An ankle sprain cost Flowers some snaps last week, but nonetheless, it was another dud performance from Baltimore’s WR1. If he was struggling week in and week out, things would be easier. It would be disappointing, but at least we’d know what to do — bench him.
As it stands right now, we are helpless. The situation and role demand we start Flowers weekly, even if we are doing so with next to no certainty as to what we are going to get.
- Week 3 at Dallas Cowboys: three catches for 20 yards (fantasy’s WR71)
- Week 4 vs. Buffalo Bills: one catch for 10 yards (WR94)
- Week 5 at Cincinnati Bengals: seven catches for 111 yards (WR14)
- Week 6 vs. Washington Commanders: nine catches for a career-high 132 yards (WR6)
- Week 7 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers: one catch for 11 yards (WR65)
The Browns are allowing a league-high 14.3 yards per catch to the slot this season. That has me trending toward this being a strong week for Flowers, but you need to be aware of the downside that comes with trusting him in a game that very well could be dominated by Derrick Henry.
At the very least, keep an eye on his bulky ankle. He returned to Week 7 after the injury and should be good to go, but given the up-and-down nature of his production, sharp managers will keep updated with the most recent news coming out of Baltimore.
Isaiah Likely, TE
The athletic profile is just as impressive now as it was when he had the big season opener in Kansas City, but Likely has been unable to carve out enough of a role to matter.
His on-field target share has been north of 21% in consecutive games, but with his snap rate trending in the wrong direction (70.1% in Week 5, 67.7% in Week 6, and 57.4% on Monday night), the pie simply isn’t large enough to feel good about rostering Likely.
For the record, that doesn’t mean cross him off of your list of potential streamers. This remains an offense that I want exposure to. Considering that Likely has five end-zone targets over the past three weeks, he is as good a bet to score as any of the tight ends on your wire.
Mark Andrews, TE
He’s back, baby! The tight end I paid top dollar for this summer had a slow start, but he’s been a top-six producer at the position in consecutive weeks. He is 100% ready to be the asset I hoped for when it matters most!
Slow down.
Yes, Andrews has now scored three times over the past two weeks and set a season high in fantasy points in three straight. But acting as if all is right is a bit optimistic (and is exactly what makes him the top sell-high candidate of the week).
We know this offense is going to run through Derrick Henry more often than not — that has Andrews’ role taking a back seat. He hasn’t been on the field for even 55% of Baltimore’s offensive snaps in a game since Week 2 and has relied on insane efficiency over the past three weeks to give him lineup-worthy numbers (12.5 yards per target with one score every 4.3 targets isn’t exactly stable).
It’s encouraging that Andrews is getting valuable looks. That’s enough to justify starting him as a part of the best offense in the NFL, but I’d very much caution against assuming that his elite fantasy status is back like it never left.
Baltimore Ravens at Cleveland Browns Game Insights
Baltimore Ravens
Team: The Ravens play three divisional games over the next four weeks – Week 11 will mark the end of their road divisional games this regular season.
QB: Lamar Jackson completed 11-of-14 passes for 181 yards and two touchdowns in the first half on Monday night in Tampa Bay. The reigning MVP has a first-half touchdown pass in five straight games, matching the second-longest streak of his career (he had nine straight games bridging the 2019-20 seasons).
Offense: The Ravens have scored 30-plus points in four straight games, the third time they’ve done that in a single season since the start of 2000. A fifth straight game would match their longest streak over that stretch (Weeks 7-11 in 2023, Weeks 7-12 in 2019).
Defense: Baltimore entered Week 7 with three interceptions – they picked off Baker Mayfield twice in the stretch of three first-half passes.
Fantasy: Zay Flowers is turning into one of the more frustrating fantasy options in the league. Through seven weeks, he now has four games with under 40 receiving yards and three with north of 90
Betting: Overs have come through in nine of Baltimore’s past 13 games played on short rest.
Cleveland Browns
Team: The Browns have lost five straight games and haven’t scored more than 16 points in any of them – that’s the longest such streak within a single season since the 2017 Texans (Weeks 12-17).
QB: Deshaun Watson’s season is over – no QB who kept his job through seven weeks was averaging fewer yards per pass this year (5.3).
Offense: The Browns have punted on most of their drives this season (50.6%, pacing for the highest rate since both the Rams and 49ers punted on 50.8% of their possessions in 2016).
Defense: The Browns have allowed the second-lowest completion percentage this season (58.8%) but also have the third-worst interception rate (0.5%).
Fantasy: David Njoku scored last week and has a pair of top-10 finishes at the tight end position this season – if there is going to be a bright spot in this passing game, he seems poised to be it.
Betting: Home underdogs getting more than seven points have covered 60.2% of the time since 2020 (44-29-2).
