The Baltimore Ravens are in the midst of a battle for the top seed in the AFC and will be going full throttle for the remainder of the season. With Keaton Mitchell suffering a knee injury, there is a path for Justice Hill’s usage to increase in a significant way.
Will it be enough to impact the final few weeks of your fantasy football league?
Should Justice Hill Be a Waiver Wire Add in Week 16?
Getting a piece of an elite offense is often what we aim for in fantasy, and that train of thought makes Hill worth a speculative add. However, it’s important to parse whether you’re adding him more out of principal than you are because of a realistic expectation that he’ll make a difference in your postseason.
Prior to this injury, Hill had essentially been written out of this offense. He had two touches before Mitchell went down on Sunday night, pacing for his fifth straight game with no more than five opportunities with the ball in his hands.
Mitchell has been flirting with double-digit touches since the beginning of November, and the majority of those figure to land in the lap of Gus Edwards and/or Lamar Jackson should he miss time.
That said, Hill will continue to be on the field and could slide into a third-down role with Edwards being very limited as a pass-catching threat. While that doesn’t project as a high-volume spot in this offense, it could be of some interest in deep PPR leagues with a pair of explosive offenses on the schedule during the fantasy playoffs.
- Week 16 at San Francisco 49ers
- Week 17 vs. Miami Dolphins
If those offenses force Jackson into something close to the 43 passes he attempted against the Rams in the Week 14 win, there’s a path for Hill to assume a role that looks something like what Tyjae Spears does for the Tennessee Titans or Roschon Johnson does in Chicago.
That’s not enough usage in most standard-sized leagues to get into the Flex conversation, though, on an offense like this, Hill deserves to at least be rostered if he shows some juice and gets increased usage.
MORE: PFN’s FREE NFL Playoff Predictor
Roster construction this time of year is critical, as is planning ahead. Hill will be in a tough spot to project for much fantasy value next week against a stingy 49ers defense that comes with an offense that can hold onto the ball and limit the number of opponent possessions.
But the Dolphins in Week 17? That game could easily shoot out, and that puts a player like Hill in an advantageous spot.
As for the roster construction angle — your bench should be loaded with options that have the potential to play for you entering this week. All season long, we preach playing the long game and thinking forward, but now, all of the chips are in the middle of the table and you need to have the gas pedal pushed all the way down.
Adding Hill isn’t an exciting move, but there aren’t a lot of viable adds available at the RB position right now. If you’re holding onto a handcuff like Jordan Mason or Joshua Kelley, adding Hill makes sense. Both of those RBs are playing behind a locked-in starter who is currently healthy, thus blocking them from enough usage to be anywhere near the fantasy starter conversation.
If the back half of your roster has players like Zamir White or Jerick McKinnon, then Hill is below your cutoff and doesn’t need to be added to your squad. At the end of the day, Hill is a roster-specific add for depth, not a piece you are planning on playing in the coming weeks.
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