The Baltimore Ravens offense opened up the playbook considerably through the air in 2023 and resulted in Lamar Jackson winning his second league MVP award of his career. He finished the year as the QB4 for fantasy football while they had a top-24 fantasy RB and a top-36 fantasy WR.
They added veteran RB Derrick Henry in free agency to improve their running game, and they will have hope Zay Flowers and Rashod Bateman can take another step to strengthen the passing game. Let’s examine what type of fantasy expectations managers should have for the Ravens’ offense in 2024.
Baltimore Ravens Fantasy Depth Chart
QB
Lamar Jackson, Josh Johnson, Devin Leary
RB
Derrick Henry, Keaton Mitchell, Rasheen Ali, Justice Hill
WR1
Zay Flowers, Devontez Walker
WR2
Rashod Bateman, Deonte Harty
WR3
Nelson Agholor, Tylan Wallace
TE
Mark Andrews, Isaiah Likely, Charlie Kolar
Lamar Jackson’s Fantasy Outlook
Jackson’s growth as a passer was significant last season. Need proof? He went from averaging 188 passing yards per game in 2022 to 229 passing yards per game in 2023.
In addition, Jackson had his best TD-INT ratio since his 2019 campaign, with 24 TD passes to just seven INTs. He accomplished this while still producing 821 rushing yards and five scores on the ground, which easily makes him one of the most dynamic dual-threat superstar QBs in the league.
Lamar Jackson takes it into the end zone!
➡ 6 plays
➡ 55 yards
➡ 2 minutes, 56 seconds#Ravens lead, 17-10.pic.twitter.com/DXJB1voARI— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) January 20, 2024
Having the ability to make big plays with both his arms and his legs gives Jackson a really nice floor for fantasy. It is rare that he completely fails fantasy managers when he plays a full game.
That is generally the case for the top-tier dual-threat QBs who can add five or more fantasy points with their legs on average across the course of the season. Jackson averaged seven fantasy points per game with his legs in 2023 as a prime example.
Injury risk will always remain a concern with Jackson from a fantasy perspective, having missed 10 games in 2021 and 2022. However, on a per-game basis, he remains a significant fantasy weapon. Expect Jackson to still be a top-five fantasy option per game at the QB position in 2024.
Derrick Henry’s Fantasy Outlook
King Henry heading to the Queen City at 30 years old could extend his fantasy RB1 shelf life for another couple of seasons after joining a Ravens offense that has finished as a top-five rushing offense for five straight seasons.
Some could question if Henry’s level of dominance took a step back in 2023, finishing with a career-low 4.17 yards per carry (YPC) in 2023.
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While that is a legitimate question to ask about any aging ball carrier, it is worth mentioning he was playing behind one of the worst offensive lines in the league and middling quarterback play and still managed to run for 1,167 yards and 12 TDs last year.
No disrespect to Gus Edwards, but if he can rush for 800+ yards and 13 TDs at 28 years old, then Henry could certainly hit those numbers in a vastly improved fantasy situation. If anything, Edwards’ production last season could be a baseline floor to help fantasy managers set reasonable expectations for his first year in Baltimore.
Zay Flowers’ Fantasy Outlook
If not for Los Angeles Rams WR Puka Nacua going absolutely bonkers last year, Zay Flowers may have been a candidate for the best fantasy rookie wide receiver in 2023.
Lamar Jackson and Zay Flowers connect for a HUGE play on the 1st drive of the game! 🔥#RavensFlock
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) October 22, 2023
His excellent rookie campaign produced 77 receptions, 858 yards, and five scores on 108 targets. Flowers proved to be a moveable weapon — lining up in the slot 31% of the time — who attacked all three levels of the football field — seeing 23 deep targets 20+ yards down the field last year, which ranked inside the top 25 at the position — who flashed exceptional run-after-catch ability (RAC) with 444 yards with the ball in his hands.
If Jackson and Flowers can connect on a few more of those deep shots in 2024, then he could sneak into the top 10 WR fantasy territory in his second season.
Mark Andrews’ Fantasy Outlook
Mark Andrews’ TE15 finish in 2023 was certainly disappointing for fantasy managers but mostly came from sustaining an ankle injury in Week 11, which cost him the rest of the regular season.
Despite competing for targets with both Flowers and Odell Beckham Jr., Andrews still averaged 4.5 receptions and 54 receiving yards per game, which was almost his exact level of per-game production in 2023, with 4.8 receptions and 56 receiving yards per game in 2022.
The presence of Flowers didn’t appear to have any impact on Andrews’ production last year, and he still has plenty of prime years left in the tank to firmly put him inside the top 5 at the TE position heading into 2024 fantasy drafts.
Ravens’ Fantasy Sleepers
The Ravens appeared to have a couple of potential sleepers last season after both J.K. Dobbins and Andrews suffered season-ending injuries.
Keaton Mitchell had a pair of exceptional games in the middle of the year, producing 200 total yards and two TDs in just 14 games before sustaining a season-ending knee injury of his own that puts his status for the start of the 2024 season in jeopardy.
Another running back to keep on the sleeper radar is rookie RB Rasheen Ali, out of Marshall, who possesses a great athletic profile and downhill rushing style that fits this offense perfectly.
Many have been disappointed with Rashod Bateman’s production through the first three years of his career — failing to generate a top 65 fantasy finish at WR in any season — but did manage to finish the year playing more than 12 games for the first time as a Raven. Yet, he appears to be locked in as a third option in the passing game to both Andrews and Flowers, which limits his fantasy ceiling.
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Another receiver worth keeping on your radar is North Carolina’s Devontez Walker, who has an ideal prospect profile at 6’2”, 193 with 4.3 speed but likely needs to expand his route tree and clean up the drops before he becomes a relevant fantasy option in 2024.
One more player to keep an eye on late in your fantasy draft is TE Isaiah Likely, who averaged 11.9 fantasy points per game from Weeks 11-18 — which was good for the TE6 in PPR formats during that span — after Andrews missed the rest of the year due to injury. Likely has a great pass-catching profile but will not see the volume to be fantasy-relevant working behind Andrews in 2024.
