As the NFL season approaches, millions of people are turning their attention to fantasy football. We at PFN have been researching more than 350 players, trying to identify which ones are overrated, underrated, and priced right. With that in mind, here are Rashod Bateman’s fantasy projections for 2023, as well as insights into whether he should be drafted at or before his ADP.
Get a trade offer in your dynasty or redraft league? Not sure who to start or sit this week? Leverage PFN’s FREE fantasy tools — the Fantasy Football Trade Analyzer and Calculator and Start/Sit Optimizer! Put the finishing touch on your A+ draft with 1 of our 425+ fantasy football team names.
Rashod Bateman’s 2023 Fantasy Projection
The last two years in Baltimore have been rocky, to say the least. After starting the 2021 season with an 8-3 record, they endured a five-game losing streak to miss the playoffs.
Last year, they eked into the postseason despite losing three of their last four contests before falling to the Bengals in the Wild Card Round.
It was all supposed to go differently. But few teams have endured as many key offensive injuries during this stretch. From Lamar Jackson to J.K. Dobbins to Gus Edwards to Bateman, it’s been tough for this franchise to sustain momentum, despite having the pieces in place for a deep playoff run.
For Bateman’s part, the 2021 first-round pick showed promise as a rookie alongside Marquise Brown, when he caught more than two-thirds of his targets while dropping only two passes on 68 looks — many of them thrown by backup QBs.
When the Ravens traded Brown to Arizona last offseason, it appeared Bateman would be the clear-cut No. 1 WR in a dynamic (albeit run-heavy) offense. Starting opposite Devin Duvernay, and with only Mark Andrews as a weekly threat to his target share, Bateman surely could take his game to another level.
We’ll never know. He missed 11 games. Demarcus Robinson was forced into the No. 1 WR role. Only two teams threw for fewer yards. Dobbins frequently became a lone bright spot in limited starts. It was a rough situation and a what-could-have-been season for a team that could have challenged Cincy for the AFC North title.
And now Bateman enters Year 3 in an entirely different situation. The team drafted Zay Flowers and signed Odell Beckham Jr. While OBJ’s best days are firmly behind him, he could easily cut into Bateman’s ceiling. More pressingly, the rookie Flowers might push for the top spot on the depth chart.
Andrews remains a weekly offensive weapon. Dobbins and Edwards remain a fearsome backfield tandem (when healthy). And Lamar Jackson can do it all, as long as his body holds up.
There are so many yellow flags confronting Bateman this season, most of which didn’t exist a year ago. This is now a crowded receiving corps in a run-friendly offense — a bad combination for fantasy managers seeking fantasy WRs to start each week.
While Bateman should hit career highs in receptions and yards, this would be more because of health than productivity. On a per-game basis, his numbers will probably decline compared to 2022 and 2021.
A 70-775-4 receiving line seems like a realistic goal. Maybe he could hit 85-900-5 if OBJ misses considerable time — a possibility for an aged receiver who hasn’t played in 18 months.
Still, those expecting a breakout might need to wait a year or two or three. On this team, with the current personnel in place, there’s little room for Bateman to shine consistently.
Should You Draft Rashod Bateman This Year?
Underdog Fantasy currently lists Bateman with an ADP of WR48. Our PFN Consensus Rankings place him in the WR49 spot. These are sensible rankings for a receiver with a relatively low ceiling and a mostly assured top-75 floor.
The fact is, Bateman isn’t going anywhere. He’ll be one of the team’s top-five offensive options, and likely top four.
But he’s not a weekly fantasy starter, at least not yet. Even if he plays all 17 games, the Ravens’ offense isn’t designed to feed more than one or two receivers per game. Andrews remains a good bet for a rebound, and Flowers will get plenty of looks. Bateman might be a top 40-60 WR in a typical week, cracking the top 35 occasionally when he scores.
Jackson has averaged 1.5 TD passes per start in the last three seasons. That’s not likely to pop in 2023. In this largely conservative passing scheme, Bateman needs touchdowns to be fantasy-relevant. Most weeks, that probably won’t be in the cards.