Earlier this week, reports came out that Texas Longhorns’ RB CJ Baxter suffered a knee injury that will sideline him for the entire 2024 season. For those Devy and C2C players out there, Baxter has been a name we’ve been extremely excited about since his high school days. Baxter was ranked as the number one overall RB in the country for the 2023 class, according to On3 and 247Sports. He was a five-star recruit on both sites, receiving interest and offers from every Power 5 program in the country.
As a true freshman, Baxter saw a significant workload alongside Jonathon Brooks, essentially jumping Jaydon Blue on the depth chart from Day 1. Baxter finished the 2023 season with 138 carries for 659 yards and five touchdowns, tacking on 24 receptions for 156 yards as well. Baxter took on more of a workhorse role after Brooks suffered an injury late in the season, posting his best game against Iowa State, where he ran for 117 yards and hauled in five receptions.
CJ Baxter had some sky-high expectations heading into this 2024 season. Being a top recruit and immediately producing as a true freshman in the Big 12 moved him even further up the Devy and C2C ranks. In my last Devy Superflex startup draft this offseason, Baxter went at the 3.03 spot in the Devy portion of the draft. And in my only C2C league, consisting of several DFF analysts, Baxter went 2.02 overall as the third RB off the board, behind Quinshon Judkins and OIlie Gordon. Clearly, this news is a big blow for Baxter owners. Let’s review the injury details and discuss what this means for Baxter, as well as what we can expect from this Longhorns backfield in 2024.
Injury Details
According to an article written by Cameron Salerno of CBS Sports, Baxter suffered a torn LCL and PCL in his right knee this past Tuesday, August 6th. This incident apparently took place during the non-contact portion of practice. The recovery process is expected to take anywhere from six to nine months, meaning his 2024 season is effectively over. I wouldn’t necessarily hit the panic button on all my Baxter shares; this is still a supremely talented back who should have a nice NFL future, barring any further injuries. But there is no doubt we need to move him down our ranks significantly in C2C, as we’re missing out on an entire year. We’ll also need to temper our expectations on the Devy side, as there’s no guarantee Baxter will come back as the same player he once was. Luckily, he’s a young kid with plenty of football ahead of him, but drafting and trading for Baxter is a gamble.
Who’s Up Next?
With CJ Baxter gone for the year, it appears incoming junior Jaydon Blue is set to take on the RB1 role. Blue is another prospect who had lots of hype surrounding his name coming out of high school, ranked as the RB6 in the 2022 class on 247Sports. Jaydon didn’t have much of a shot at playing time as a freshman, playing behind Bijan Robinson, Roschon Johnson, and Jonathon Brooks. But as a sophomore last season, many expected Blue to split time with Brooks, playing in more of a committee backfield. Not only did that not come to fruition, but Blue saw Baxter beat him out for RB2 honors. Things were not looking great for the 6’0″, 200-pound bruiser, but he now has a chance to prove his worth as a key contributor to this Texas offense.
Tre Wisner is an incoming sophomore RB who may be stepping into a complementary role after the Baxter injury. Wisner was not as highly sought after coming out of high school, but he did get a few looks as a true freshman for Texas, totaling 12 carries for 73 yards and a touchdown on the season. He also played some special teams, adding seven tackles to the stat sheet.
Freshman Phenoms?
Texas has two four-star freshman RBs on this depth chart who may be called on quicker than expected: Jerrick Gibson and Christian Clark. Clark was ranked as a top 10 RB in the class across all four recruiting platforms, including an RB4 overall ranking on ESPN and Rivals. Clark is listed at 6’0″ and 210 pounds on Texas’ website. He has the size, strength, and explosiveness to turn into a starting RB in the Power 5 down the road.
Jerrick Gibson is my personal favorite of the two freshmen, coming in as the RB2 in the class on ESPN and the RB3 on 247Sports. Gibson stands at 5’10” and 205 pounds, coming from IMG Academy, where he was an All-American. Gibson plays with power and physicality out of the backfield. He doesn’t have elite speed or quickness, but he is still an incredible athlete and knows how to make his defenders miss. I wouldn’t be surprised if Gibson emerged as the RB2 over Wisner and Clark this upcoming season, setting him up for an even larger role in 2025.
Conclusion
We never want to hear about season-ending injuries and wish nothing but the best to CJ Baxter in his rehab process. But in the meantime, we need to adjust our rankings accordingly as Devy and C2C players. In C2C, we’re losing our superstar RB for an entire season, and we’re not sure what kind of prospect we’ll be getting once he returns. It’s possible Baxter loses grips on the starting role in 2025 and has to transfer or simply doesn’t produce to our expectations. Because of this, I’m letting someone else take the risk of drafting Baxter in startup drafts. He may be a decent buy-low candidate if the discount gets large enough. But I imagine the Baxter owners will be holding for the time being.
The other four RBs in this backfield (Blue, Wisner, Gibson, Clark) should all move up our ranks in Devy and C2C. Specifically, I’m betting Jerrick Gibson will be a player HC Sarkisian is eager to put out there immediately. I imagine Jaydon Blue will see his stock rise exponentially, but I’m not sold on him as a college or future NFL prospect. This may be a great opportunity to sell high on Blue in both formats. Regardless, this Texas offense will still be electric in 2024, and we will need to keep tabs on this backfield to see who emerges as the top dog.
Thank you for taking the time to read this article, and I hope you got some valuable information you can use for your fantasy team! If you’d like additional insight into Dynasty Football news and analysis, please follow me on Twitter at @jim_DFF. Until next time, keep grinding out there, DFF family! #DFFArmy #AlwaysBeBuilding
