The Baltimore Ravens’ fantasy preview for Week 8 centers around the emergence of Gus Edwards, while the Arizona Cardinals’ fantasy outlook sorts through the decline of Marquise Brown.
How should fantasy football managers approach this contest?
Baltimore Ravens at Arizona Cardinals
- Spread: Ravens -8
- Total: 44
- Ravens implied points: 26
- Cardinals implied points: 18
Quarterbacks
Lamar Jackson: Jackson put himself back on the MVP radar with a truly dominating effort (357 passing yards and three TDs with 36 yards and a score on the ground) against a Lions defense that entered the week, per the Week 8 Cheat Sheet, as the fourth-best defense in the league on a per-play basis.
His first touchdown pass was not only a thing of beauty but a demonstration of growth. As he used his athletic tools to keep defenders at bay, he kept his eyes downfield and eventually found Nelson Agholor for the 12-yard score.
Jackson has completed at least 70% of his passes in six of seven games under Todd Monken. When you combine that with the floor created by his rushing abilities, we are getting close to adding Jackson to the top tier of fantasy signal-callers.
At the very least, Jackson is proving to be a great asset based on what you paid on draft day and could be a league-winner — the Ravens host the Miami Dolphins in a potential shootout in Week 17.
Kyler Murray: I understand the thought process around scooping up Murray and hoping for the best, but it’s not for me. Not only do we not know when he is going to debut or the form he will be in, but the Cards have the Pittsburgh Steelers, a bye week, and the San Francisco 49ers in Weeks 13-15.
The idea of adding his upside to your roster makes sense on paper, I’m just not sure we see it materialize in 2023.
Running Backs
Gus Edwards: Not only was Edwards given the first carry of last week’s impressive win over the Lions, he was featured throughout. Even better? He recorded an 80-yard reception. Let me say that again. Eighty. Yards. Not bad for a player who, entering last week, averaged under 3.6 receiving yards per game for his career.
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This isn’t a bell-cow situation. It’s one with specific roles, and Edwards just happened to run hot with the big play. For the game, he and Justice Hill each played 30 snaps, with Edwards holding a 10-carry edge and Hill running 14 more routes.
Justice Hill: I personally think Hill is a decent player, but with just four carries and one target last week, it’s clear that the team prefers Edwards for their lead role.
I noted Hill’s edge in the pass game role, and he was the target of Jackson’s first pass last week. There’s a niche in this upward-trending offense for Hill, but he means more for Baltimore than he does for us. He should remain rostered, but only as depth.
Keaontay Ingram: Easy come, easy go. He looked like the leader of this backfield in Week 6 but didn’t play a single snap last week. You can hold onto him for one more week if you want to confirm that he has been written out of their offensive plans, but it’s not needed. Ingram is a cut candidate if you’re in a roster pinch.
Emari Demercado: There was no confusion last week as to who the Cardinals wanted leading their backfield. The rookie held a 53-12 snap edge over Damien Williams in the loss to Seattle, racking up 75 yards on 17 touches in the process.
He’s in the low-end Flex tier for me this week, alongside players like Najee Harris and Dameon Pierce. It’s not a fun range to deal with, but the projected touch count holds value at this point in the decision-making process.
Wide Receivers
Zay Flowers: He’s a rich man’s Rashee Rice. That is, he’s the top receiver in a strong offense that is paced by a tight end. The reason I prefer him to Rice is the reliance on the passing game (and the concentration of it) in Baltimore.
That’s not to say Kansas City doesn’t rely on the passing game, but they have a stable workhorse RB that is capable of producing, a luxury the Ravens don’t have.
I also have more faith in Mahomes spreading the ball around than I do Jackson. Flowers should be locked in as a fine WR2 moving forward, a ranking I feel good about, given Jackson’s form.
Rashod Bateman: There is no fantasy spin here. I just want to give him a shoutout for seeing exactly three targets in all six of his games this season. In a sport where seemingly anything can happen, Bateman has been our guiding light. For that, we thank you. But we don’t roster you.
Odell Beckham Jr.: He was involved early (three catches for 35 yards on four targets in the first quarter), which was nice to see, but it didn’t last (two catches for 14 yards the rest of the way). Of course, the game script played a part in Baltimore’s limited aggression through the air as their beatdown of the Lions wore on.
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OBJ finished with a team-high seven targets — easily his highest count of the season. Is this the start of something? I’m not buying it. Not yet. This team has been functioning just fine without a WR2, and I expect that to continue.
But could Beckham be a one-week rental in Week 9? These receivers are on bye:
- Jerry Jeudy and Courtland Sutton
- Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk
- Christian Kirk, Calvin Ridley, and Zay Jones
- Amon-Ra St. Brown
Maybe. And if those WRs are on your roster and you’re willing to roll the dice on OBJ, I’d recommend waiting until after waivers pass this week (zero teams on a bye) and scooping him up for free with Week 9 as your target.
Marquise Brown: After hitting at least five catches in three straight games, Hollywood has failed to reach that number in each of his past three and has been held under 65 yards in six of seven games this season.
We are learning that not all offenses need to have a viable option in the passing game, and that is how I have it ranked this week. Brown is my WR35.
Rondale Moore: With 10 carries over the past three weeks, there are touches to chase if you’re really in a bind.
But outside of that, there’s no reason to go this direction. Moore has yet to hit 35 receiving yards in a game this season and is an afterthought in a passing game that lacks upside.
Tight Ends
Mark Andrews: We’ve yet to see the volume-spike week (4-6 catches in every game this season), but the splash plays have been a nice addition to the profile (20+ yard receptions in five of six games).
Could we see one of those massive games coming with a confident Jackson? It’s certainly possible. I’ll have some DFS exposure this week as part of Baltimore double and triple stacks.
Trey McBride: With Zach Ertz placed on IR this week, the door is open for McBride to emerge as a viable streamer. Those two split the snaps and routes right down the middle last week, and without a ton of depth beyond them at the position, McBride’s playing time should put him in a spot to produce.
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I don’t quite have him as a top-15 play, though I will be tracking his usage this weekend to see if there is something there as we enter the second half of the fantasy season.
Should You Start Gus Edwards or Brian Robinson?
Brian Robinson has held the lead role in Washington for all of this season, but he’s a touchdown-dependent back on an offense that doesn’t seem poised for a big day.
Edwards is coming off of a productive week in an elite offense. Jackson is plenty capable of stealing valuable looks from Edwards, but the QB’s ability to put this offense in scoring position is good enough for me in this spot.
Should You Start Marquise Brown or Diontae Johnson?
Neither plays for an offense that I trust in a significant way, but Brown’s wide range of outcomes scares me. Diontae Johnson came off of IR last week and looked the part – from snap share to crispness of routes, he looked fresh. I don’t have either ranked as a starter in standard formats, but if forced to choose, give me the security that comes with Johnson’s low-aDOT role.
Looking to make a trade in your fantasy league? Having trouble deciding who to start and who to sit? Setting DFS lineups? Check out PFN’s Free Fantasy Football Trade Analyzer, Start/Sit Optimizer, and DFS Lineup Optimizer to help you make the right decision!