The Baltimore Ravens will face the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 13. 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 13 Fantasy Start-Sit Cheat Sheet, where we cover every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Lamar Jackson, QB
Lamar Jackson now has eight straight games with a 20-yard rush or a 72% completion rate, a level of versatility that comfortably lands him in the tier of elite quarterbacks, if not sitting atop the position.
The Derrick Henry factor hasn’t limited his fantasy appeal in the least and I’d argue that it helps him. I don’t think the 10-yard sprint to the corner of the end zone on Monday night happens nearly as easily a season ago, but with Henry demanding high levels of attention on the interior, it almost seems too easy for this offense at times.
The Eagles defense is clearly trending in the right direction, and that puts them on the Super Bowl radar, but they haven’t faced a fully functional mobile quarterback (Daniel Jones doesn’t count and Jayden Daniels was battling an injury) and Jackson is matchup proof as it is – he’s an elite option across the board, including the DFS main slate.
Derrick Henry, RB
On Monday night, the Chargers loaded the box for 70.8% of Derrick Henry’s carries. Guess what? It didn’t matter. He cleared 130 rushing yards for the fifth time this season and, despite all of the defensive attention and limited versatility (he hasn’t had a multi-target game since September), he’s delivered at least 10% over his expected points in 11 of 12 games this season.
His Week 12 performance wasn’t jaw-dropping like that of Saquon Barkley, and that has resulted in him falling back a touch in the race for Offensive Player of the Year honors. Still, he authored the exact type of performance you drafted him for – a tough matchup in the second half of the season where he just grinds out production.
The scary part is that his Barkley moment could be coming. Perhaps not this week as he plays on short rest (and for the 13th consecutive week), but maybe against the Giants after the Week 14 bye? Maybe against the Texans on Christmas day, a contest where the defense will be asked to recover in time to tackle The King just three days after dealing with Patrick Mahomes?
You’re sitting pretty if you roster Henry, even if the upcoming bye week is annoying.
Justice Hill, RB
Justice Hill took a carry 51 yards to the house against the Chargers on Monday night, his first run gaining more than nine yards since September. I’m not sure he’s a direct handcuff to Derrick Henry, but with an 84.6% catch rate this season, he’d just need 10-12 carries to work into the Flex conversation.
It’s clear that is not going to happen at the moment, but I’m more sold on that being projectable if Henry were to get dinged up, and that makes Hill a fine stash that you can plug in if pressed, something that I don’t think you can really say for other handcuffs like Ray Davis or Jaylen Wright.
Diontae Johnson, WR
The NFL told us what they thought of Diontae Johnson with his asking price at the trade deadline, and we’ve seen that price be justified.
Johnson has been with the Ravens for a month now, and the only thing lower than his route count across those four games (19) is his yardage total (six). It’s clear that Rashod Bateman remains the WR2 in this offense, and with two viable tight ends, not to mention a robust run game, there’s just not a path for Johnson to be on the field regularly, let alone produce numbers that matter for us.
Rashod Bateman, WR
Rashod Bateman offered a highlight play on Monday night, overcoming defensive pass interference to haul in a 40-yard touchdown pass, but that was essentially all we heard from him during the victory.
The fact that Lamar Jackson has thrown a deep touchdown pass in four straight games (the second-longest streak of his career) is encouraging enough to keep Bateman on your radar down the stretch as you could find yourself in point-chasing mode, but that doesn’t mean he needs to be rostered at this moment in time.
The Eagles boast a top-seven pass defense in terms of touchdown rate, passer rating, and yards per attempt, making them a less-than-ideal matchup the week before Baltimore heads on bye. If you want access to the big-play threat who has failed to catch more than three passes in four of his past five games, you’re wise to give it two weeks and not burn a roster spot in the meantime.
Zay Flowers, WR
Is it possible that we are 12 weeks into this season and I’ve yet to truly nail a Zay Flowers projection?
I think it is. He’s a tough receiver to figure out on a weekly basis (six games under 40 receiving yards but also four games with over 110), but from a process standpoint, I think you’re plugging him in as a low-end WR2 and taking your chances.
Since Week 8, only three qualified receivers have a 26% on-field target share while also producing 20% over PPR expectations, and Flowers is on that list (if you’re interested, Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Courtland Sutton are the other two).
The Eagles’ defense is one that I think caps Flowers’ upside (fifth-ranked red-zone defense), but I’m viewing the floor as what we saw last week (five catches for 62 yards). That’s enough to justify your faith. Philadelphia allows the eighth-most yards per catch after the reception on slot passes this year, a scab that the Ravens could pick at with their WR1.
Isaiah Likely, TE
I can’t be the only one wondering how Isaiah Likely is featured on the hands team, the most important play of the game, but has been held without a reception in two of his past three games and hasn’t earned more than five targets in a game since his dramatic season opener.
Are his hands so good that we want to save them for the onside kick?
That’s some serious 4D chess if that’s the thought process. More likely, however, is that this offense just isn’t designed to run through the tight end position. The running game is clearly the driving force while the versatility of Zay Flowers and the field stretching of Rashod Bateman are the preferred receiver types.
I’m holding my Likely dynasty shares but not with the thought that they yield much in the way of returns for the remainder of 2024.
Mark Andrews, TE
Mark Andrews made a nice catch in the back of the end zone last week, but he is walking such a thin line to be productive for fantasy managers. He was on the field for a season-low 41.7% of snaps last week; while the 5-44-1 stat line is nice, it’s hard to produce if you’re not consistently on the field.
I loved that they used him in-line (72% slot share), and that is something I’ll be tracking, but Todd Monken has made it clear that he doesn’t need pass-catching tight ends for this offense to function how he wants.
I’m not going to rank either Baltimore tight end as a starter unless things change dramatically down the stretch.