What changes will 2022 bring to the Baltimore Ravens offense? Let’s look into some Buy, Sell, or Keep options for 2022.
No one really knows what the Baltimore Ravens offense will look like in 2022. Here are my three buy, sell, and keep options for 2022.
Buy
Rashod Bateman, WR
Drafted in the first round of the 2021 draft by the Baltimore Ravens, Rashod Bateman did not start his rookie season with a bang. It was a big thud because of a soft tissue injury that required surgery on his groin during training camp. That injury kept Bateman off of the field for all of the preseason and the first five weeks of his rookie season.
After missing half of the pre-season and five regular-season games, you would think Bateman would be lost for his rookie season. He did just the opposite. Bateman had at least six targets in seven of his 12 games. He had at least four receptions in seven of his 12 games. Bateman had at least 52 receiving yards in five of his 12 games. He was never under 50% in catch percentage.
The Ravens were the third-ranked NFL rushing team in 2021. Marquise Brown looked the part of the go-to receiver at times, but you could also see that he was most comfortable running the fly route. Bateman is the whole package. He runs a very quick 4.43 40 yard dash. Bateman has the proto-type size to go with that speed at 6′ 2″ and 210 lbs.
Brown will likely have coverage roll his way. Defenses seem to double Mark Andrews also. That leaves Bateman to exploit defenses all of 2022. If you need a spicy buy, go buy Bateman now! He is cheap, cheap, cheap.
Sell
Mark Andrews, TE
Mark Andrews was drafted in the third round of the 2018 NFL draft by the Baltimore Ravens. After being really good, but not great, his first three years in the NFL, 2021 was the great year for Andrews. He had 107 receptions off of 153 targets for 1,361 yards and 9 TDs. Andrews did not miss a game for the first time since he was a rookie.
Ironically, Andrews went off during his last five games of 2021 after Lamar Jackson went down with an ankle injury. Jackson got hurt just 10 plays into the Week 14 contest against the Cleveland Browns. How did Andrews respond in Jackson’s absence? He had 43 of his 107 catches over the final five games. Andrews also had 550 yards of his total 1,361 yards in those last five games. All without Jackson.
Here are Andrews’ stats with Jackson over their first three+ years. In 2018, Andrews had 34 receptions off of 50 targets for 552 yards and 3 TDs. He had 64 receptions off of 98 targets for 852 yards and 10 TDs in 2019. In 2020, Andrews tallied 58 receptions off of 88 targets for 701 yards and 7 TDs. Last year, in 12 games together, Andrews had 64 catches off of 98 targets for 811 yards and 5 TDs.
Sell Andrews now for a ton of rewards! You should get players and picks! You might ask, why sell him? Because, with Jackson, he is inconsistent. He has games with three receptions for 20 yards, three receptions for 48 yards, five receptions for 44 yards, four receptions for 50 yards, and five receptions for 57 yards. To top it off in all of those games with Jackson last year, Andrews had zero TDs.
Sell Andrews because of Jackson, not because of Andrews. Just cash out now and get another aspiring TE that has the ceiling plus much more.
Keep
J.K. Dobbins, RB
Drafted in the second round of the 2020 NFL draft by the Baltimore Ravens, J.K. Dobbins was to be the centerpiece of a run-first offense with a dynamic RPO QB at the helm. He did not let down in his rookie season. In that rookie season, Dobbins was part of the RBBC with Mark Ingram.
Dobbins played in 15 games and started one. He had 134 carries for 805 yards and nine TDs. To add to his fantasy football value, Dobbins had 18 catches for 120 yards.
Fast forward to 2021. Ingram has left the building. Dobbins was to be the starter with Gus Edwards in relief. This was going to be his break-out year. Dobbins would be a top-five RB in the NFL. Move to August 28th, 2021 against the Washington Football Team in a meaningless preseason game, he tore his ACL on a screen pass. Dobbins’ year was done before it started. His breakout year will have to wait.
Dobbins vows to be better than ever in 2022 and beyond. He will have had 13 months by opening day of the 2022 NFL season to recover from his ACL surgery. That is plenty of time to be fully healed physically and ample time to heal mentally during training camp. The other good news with the injury is there was no damage to the MCL or PCL.
A lot of fantasy football owners have put Dobbins on the back burner because he has been missing for so long. Don’t be one of those guys. Without any hesitation, keep him on your roster. You will be very happy when he finally gets that breakout year in 2022.
Thank you for checking out my Buy/Sell/Keep article on the Baltimore Ravens offense! You can read all of my articles on my IDP Guys author page. Be sure to follow me on Twitter at @OldMan_ff and @IDPGuys (we have offense too) and please check out our website at idpguys.org.
