Many people may have written off the Baltimore Ravens’ rushing game when RB J.K. Dobbins tore his Achilles tendon early this year. Still, the Ravens’ backfield thrived and put together an incredible rushing performance this season. RB Gus Edwards took the lead, slid into the RB1 position, and had over 900 scrimmage yards and 13 TDs in 2023.
RB Justice Hill had a role earlier in the year and was called upon to step up as soon as RB Keaton Mitchell went down to injury, and Hill now has almost 400 yards on the ground and three TDs. The Ravens seem locked and loaded in their RB room heading into the playoffs, but for fantasy football managers, it is up in the air if either RB will even play this week.
Should You Start Gus Edwards in Fantasy This Week?
Even though Edwards has had a phenomenal year, that does not mean fantasy managers will see him on the field this week. The Ravens have nothing to play for with the bye locked up, and it would be risky to put Edwards out there with the chance of injury. There is always the talk of whether a week of additional rest can make players rusty, but HC John Harbaugh addressed the issue.
“We have to work through the injury part of it first. That’ll take us probably 24-48 hours to get a real handle on that, and then we’ll make those decisions on that,” Harbaugh said to the media. “We’re not going to keep it a secret. We’ll let you know what we’re going to do once we start practicing.”
To make the situation even more complicated, Edwards could start and then be quickly pulled early on in the game. That is not the kind of risk I want to take at the end of the season, so I would bench Edwards in Week 18. The good news is that Harbaugh seems somewhat transparent, and fantasy managers should have some more info given to them before the game, allowing them to make better decisions.
Edwards is RB54 in PFN’s Consensus Rankings this week.
Should You Start Justice Hill in Fantasy This Week?
I believe Justice Hill has a slightly better chance to play than Edwards does this week. They have been ramping up Hill more lately, and I anticipate at least a few plays drawn up for him to keep the juices flowing. However, I think that, like Edwards, Hill will not play the entire game, and fantasy managers must be ready for that occurrence. Hill is RB55 in PFN’s Consensus Rankings this week.
In the Pro Football Network Start/Sit Optimizer, PFN’s Consensus Rankings say that Hill is the player to start. His projected 5.5 points include a projection of 27.4 rushing yards and 1.9 receptions for 9.1 yards. This outperforms the consensus projection for Edwards, who is projected for 5.0 points on 35.7 yards rushing.
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Managers might notice how low the projected fantasy points are for these two running backs, and the high chance they might not play is baked into these projections. Even Las Vegas agrees — the Pittsburgh Steelers are four-point favorites for the game in Baltimore, which implies that oddsmakers anticipate Baltimore resting most of their starters.
This aside, my ranking for the two Baltimore RBs aligns with the consensus. If I had to start one of these RBS, I would start Hill over Edwards — mainly because he has the highest chance to play. If you are desperate for a start, I would look deeper into the Baltimore depth chart. We could see veteran RBs Melvin Gordon III and Patrick Ricard get a significant uptick in snaps.
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!