Fantasy Stock Up, Stock Down: Baltimore Ravens

Welcome back to the “Fantasy Stock Up, Stock Down” series (offseason edition). Us Dynasty Managers need to be constantly researching ways we can bolster our rosters. Do you need advice on who to trade for? Maybe you’re looking for players to trade away. Do you have enough young talent to ensure your roster is set for years to come? Maybe you’re going all in and need a couple of pieces to sharpen your team. During this series, we dive deep into one player whose dynasty stock is increasing and one player whose dynasty stock is decreasing. As always, we will break down each NFL team one by one. Today is all about the Baltimore Ravens. 

STOCK UP – TYLAN WALLACE

There’s not a lot to love when it comes to dissecting the Baltimore Ravens wide receiver room. Surely, Rashod Bateman is the exciting receiver dynasty managers are going out to trade for right now. Holywood Brown is now a Cardinal, Sammy Watkins is now a Packer, and someone needs to fill in as the team’s WR1. It’s not close at this point. Bateman is the obvious answer here, but we need to dig a little bit deeper. Under Lamar Jackson, WR2s in recent years haven’t done much in this offense. Bateman finished second amongst wide receivers in receiving yards last season with 515. The year before, it was Willie Snead IV with 432 receiving yards. And just for fun, in 2019, the second-leading (wide) receiver was Snead IV again with 339 yards. The point is that Jackson is slowly increasing the production of his second-most targeted wide receiver on his team. 

At some point, Jackson “should” be able to support Mark Andrews and two wide receivers, in terms of fantasy production. A “low-key” name to look out for Is Tylan Wallace. Just one offseason ago, Baltimore was looking to add wide receiver talent surrounding Brown. That’s why they went out and drafted Bateman 27th overall. Just three rounds later, they selected Wallace, who was deemed a third-round talent by many draft experts. Many fell in love with how hard he worked and how he often played bigger than he actually was at the college level. Many scouted him to be a silky smooth route-runner who could excel in the right offense. Well, this may not be the right offense, but he surely has a great opportunity now that Brown and Watkins are out of town. 

Many thought the Ravens should add more talent to the wide receiver position this offseason. Instead, they traded away their WR1 and neglected to draft another one during the 2022 NFL Draft. This means they believe in the players behind Bateman on this roster. Wallace is a likely candidate to receive more playing time, as he should compete with Devin Duvernay, James Proche III, and Binjimen Victor for targets. If you have an open spot on your team for a player with high upside and opportunity, the 23-year-old Oklahoma State product could be a worthy addition. He’s a low-risk/high-reward player that should be cheap to trade for if he’s not already on the open market. 

Other Notables: Mark Andrews, Rashod Bateman

STOCK DOWN – GUS EDWARDS

Baltimore predicates their offense on the running game, and they are always looking to add more bodies to their running back room. Last offseason, a ton of dynasty managers were excited about second-year back J.K. Dobbins and his outstanding sidekick Gus Edwards, as they created one of the top one-two punches in today’s game. Instead, they both suffered season-ending injuries before the regular season. Now our outlooks on the two are a little different. Dobbins has fully recovered from his ACL, but Edwards is still recovering from his. He’s taking it slow during offseason workouts, but he’s in line to suit up during the team’s Week 1 matchup against the Jets. There’s no question that Edwards should see a significant role in the team’s offense this season, but his dynasty outlook is a bit murky at this point of his career. 

For starters, he’s already 27 years old. We’ve gone over it many times during this series. Running backs have a short shelf life. Although Edwards has primarily served as a backup during his career, he’s topped 130 carries in all three seasons he’s played in. The running backs that typically put together lengthy careers are the ones that are more used as receivers out of the backfield, rather than getting a ton of carries (unless your Derrick Henry of course). In 43 games played, Edwards has hauled in only 18 receptions. Another reason why his dynasty value is diminishing is that he’s going into his final season under his rookie contract. Most backs don’t receive a second contract from their current team. The last time the Ravens re-signed their own running back was back in 2012 when they extended Ray Rice to a five-year deal (ouch). 

Baltimore is expected to use a “running back by committee approach.” Dobbins and Jackson are expected to lead the team in rushing. Behind them, Edwards, Justice Hill, Mike Davis, and Tyler Badie are candidates to see decent production as well. Like Edwards, Hill has been on the team for a little while now. He also missed the entire 2021 season with a torn Achilles tendon. Because of the uncertainty from the three backs coming back from injuries, the Ravens decided to bring in Davis, a veteran that has a decent amount of starting experience. They also went out and drafted Badie in the sixth round out of the University of Missouri. There are too many backs on this roster that could “leapfrog” Edwards as the RB2 this season. Even if he keeps his role, or even produces more than we predict, his dynasty value is still slipping because of his age, his contract situation, his recovery from a torn ACL, and his competition in a very loaded running back room. 

Other Notables: Nick Boyle, Justice Hill

Teams Broken Down Already: Bears, Bengals, Bills, Broncos, Buccaneers, Cardinals, Chargers, Chiefs, Colts, Cowboys, Dolphins, Eagles, Falcons, 49ers, Giants, Jaguars, Jets, Lions, Packers, Panthers, Patriots, Raiders, Rams 

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