The Baltimore Ravens drafted J.K. Dobbins in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft after his terrific career at Ohio State. Baltimore believed they had found their star running back of the future.
Sadly, Dobbins suffered a torn Achilles in the Week 1 matchup against the Houston Texans, ending his season, and he’s struggled to stay healthy in his career. The trio of Gus Edwards, Justice Hill, and Melvin Gordon will try to replace the former Ohio State star’s production in the backfield — how should fantasy football players make sense of the trio?
Gus Edwards’ Fantasy Outlook This Week
When Dobbins suffered the knee injury during the 2021 preseason, Edwards was the next man up for the Ravens. The former Rutgers running back became a popular mid-round fantasy football draft pick. Unfortunately, he suffered a torn ACL in practice days before the start of the regular season.
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The veteran running back missed eight games last year because of injury. Edwards ended the year with 87 rushing attempts for 433 yards and three touchdowns. He was the RB61, averaging 6.6 half-point PPR fantasy points per game.
More importantly, Edwards didn’t stand out in the Week 1 matchup against the Texans. The veteran had eight rushing attempts for 32 yards and scored 5.2 fantasy points.
Justice Hill’s Fantasy Outlook This Week
Hill has been a core special teams player in his NFL career. The former Oklahoma State star was the RB81 in 2022, averaging 2.4 half-point PPR fantasy points per game. He scored under 6.8 fantasy points in every contest last year.
Furthermore, the veteran running back had 119 rushing attempts for 547 yards and two touchdowns entering the 2023 season. Hill had scored 92 total fantasy points over his first three years in the NFL.
However, the former Oklahoma State star scored 12.9 fantasy points in Week 1, a career high. The veteran running back had only eight rushing attempts for nine yards but scored two touchdowns against the Texans.
Melvin Gordon’s Fantasy Outlook This Week
Unlike Edwards and Hill, Gordon has been a star running back during his NFL career. After spending the first five years of his career with the Los Angeles Chargers, the former first-round pick spent the next 2.5 seasons with the Denver Broncos.
Unfortunately, his time in Denver got cut short because of fumbling issues. Gordon has struggled with fumbles, totaling 21 in his career before last season. Sadly, the veteran had five fumbles in 2022, the most he had in a season since his rookie year.
The former Wisconsin star hopes to have the fumbling issues behind him. With Dobbins out for the year, Gordon will become part of the running back rotation after not playing in Week 1.
Which of the Baltimore Ravens’ Running Backs Should You Start?
This week, the Ravens face the Cincinnati Bengals. Last week, the Bengals struggled to slow down the Cleveland Browns’ rushing attack, surrendering 33 rushing attempts for 142 yards and 16.3 half-point PPR fantasy points.
However, the Bengals didn’t give up a touchdown to the running back position in Week 1 despite facing Nick Chubb. While the superstar running back averaged 5.9 yards per rushing attempt against Cincinnati, he didn’t find the end zone.
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Unfortunately, Baltimore doesn’t have a superstar running back on their roster. Therefore, fantasy players should avoid starting any Ravens running back in Week 2. However, if you must start one of the three, Hill is the best option.
The former Oklahoma State star had two short-yardage rushing touchdowns over Edwards last week. Reportedly, the team wanted to get him more involved in the offense this season, even before losing Dobbins to the torn Achilles.