Fantasy Football 2017 Team Preview: Baltimore Ravens

This is the 2017 fantasy preview of the Baltimore Ravens. In this preview I will provide the Must-Own players, Sleepers, and Longshot players with upside very deep in drafts.

Must-own players are those who should be owned by someone in any league. Handcuff RBs can qualify, as they are often very important to a fantasy team over the full schedule. Sleepers are secondary players that you may find on the waiver wire at some point in the year, or may go undrafted in shallower auction-style leagues. The Longshots are players with microscopic ADP, who are being drafted at the very end of drafts, or more likely not drafted at all. 

All ADP data is courtesy of FantasyPros.com.

**I will list all kickers, but I cannot give analysis on them. Sorry :-/

MUST OWNS

Danny Woodhead, RB (ADP: 91): It’s weird to see Woodhead with the highest ADP on a team, but if you look past his stature and reputation as a third-down, one-trick pony, it makes sense. When healthy, Woodhead is a fantastic fantasy contributor. In 2013 and 2015, when Woodhead played 16 games, he racked up 1,000+ yards from scrimmage in each campaign and scored 8 and 9 touchdowns, respectively. In the other two seasons, he had his playing time cut short by injury. While two serious knee injuries is definite cause for concern, he’s a surefire source of receptions, total yardage, and….don’t laugh….touchdowns. In other words, he’s an unconventional, but basically surefire RB2. If you want to take a chance on his health, you may find you have a shockingly good value around the eighth round.

Jeremy Maclin, WR (ADP: 103): Maclin is the new kid on the block, likely to be the No. 1 target for Joe Flacco. The Baltimore offense is no powerhouse, but they did lead the NFL in pass attempts in 2016. Maclin battled injury in 2016 and did very little of note; prior to 2016, he’d spent a year as a solid but unspectacular WR1 for Alex Smith. Outside of 2015, solid but unspectacular has been Maclin’s lane. I do expect that to continue with the Ravens. The sliver of hope for Maclin to be more is Flacco’s ability to chuck it deep. In 2014, Maclin’s best season, he was a deep threat in Chip Kelly’s offense, averaging 15.5 yards per catch en route to 1,318 yards and 10 touchdowns. Flacco has the gun to get Maclin big yards, but as you’ll soon see, Maclin isn’t the only show in town.

Terrance West, RB (ADP: 120): West has the lower ADP than Woodhead,, but he may end the season with the best ranking. For all Woodhead’s multi-purpose contributions, West is the starter, and West is the one without prior injury concerns. Don’t get me wrong there are cons. West has never averaged more than four yards per carry in his career, and he has close to no chance of finishing as a Top 15 back. He is not particularly explosive, and he’s been in the NFL since 2014, so a breakout is unlikely. But at the same time, if he improves even slightly on last year’s performance in the first four games, he has a chance to eclipse 10 touchdowns. Is it likely? Nah. But he’s quite possibly the best value on this team.

SLEEPERS

Mike Wallace, WR (ADP: 147): Wallace seems like he’s underrated following a 2016 season in which he put up more than 1,000 yards receiving, but he’s honestly not. He only scored four touchdowns on a squad that led the NFL in pass attempts, when he was far and away the No. 1 option. Now he’s got Maclin to compete with, and Woodhead in the backfield. He’s 30, and a deep threat on a team with Maclin taking over the deep shots, and Breshad Perriman on his heels. This ADP seems low, but I have little to no interest in owning Wallace this year. You’ll probably drop him, so go with upside at this point in the draft over boring Mike Wallace.

LONGSHOTS

Breshad Perriman, WR (ADP: 190): While most fantasy owners will take Wallace, I’d suggest waiting for the high-upside version of him, Breshad Perriman. He missed his whole rookie season, and put up 33 catches for 499 yards and three touchdowns in 2016. Nothing special, I get it. But at 6’2, 241 lbs. with blazing speed, a QB with a great deep arm, and aging in-house competition, he’s absolutely worth a gamble at this ADP.

Joe Flacco, QB (ADP: 177): I’m personally not a fan of Flacco for fantasy purposes, but if he is going to come close to leading the league in pass attempts again – this time with a pretty solid receiving corps – then he can definitely outperform this ADP and be a pretty good QB2.

KICKER

Justin Tucker.