ADP Deep Cuts: Gus Edwards Is One Of Fantasy Football's Greatest Values

Fantasy managers are rightfully excited for the Ravens’ running game to be healthy again, and are drafting J.K. Dobbins inside the Top 40. And while Dobbins has legit fantasy superstar upside, especially in Baltimore, they’re neglecting – as they largely did last season before the injury bug descended upon their training camp – about Gus Edwards. I had written here about Edwards’ ability, but let’s go over it again since he’s being drafted at No. 163, outside the Top 50 RBs per FantasyPros.

The last time we saw Edwards, he was efficiently showing out in limited work, turning 144 carries into 723 yards and six touchdowns. The Ravens backfield had Mark Ingram involved for nine games in 2020, but that year it was Edwards, not Dobbins or Ingram who led the RB room in carries. Dobbins outpaced him with six yards per carry, but Edwards was chewing up five yards per attempt, earning a better PFF grade and ranking inside the Top 10 in RB DVOA. Yes, Edwards is coming back from a torn ACL, but so is Dobbins, so they’re on even footing there and the last time both were healthy it was Edwards earning more opportunity.

Now, I’m not arguing that Edwards should be drafted ahead of Dobbins. Edwards has limitations, primarily a lack of upside as a receiver. He’s shown an ability to catch the football, but the extremely limited opportunity to catch passes across three seasons tells us all we need to know about how the Ravens view him in that capacity. He also does not have the turbo boosters that Dobbins possesses, so the home run threat that Dobbins has in his bag isn’t part of Edwards’ arsenal. For that reason, Dobbins is expected to lead the backfield in touches and could potentially wrest a meaningful advantage in the snap count. But with both backs coming off significant injuries, and in an offense that is annually one of the highest-volume rushing attacks, it makes way more sense for these two talented players to split the job fairly evenly, a la Javonte Williams and Melvin Gordon in Denver. That arrangement created two very useful fantasy options, but per their ADPs, it made Williams a letdown and Gordon a tremendous value.

Edwards is Melvin Gordon in this scenario, only with a much better quarterback running the show and an overall higher-scoring offense. He’s also being drafted way, way after Gordon was. Gordon was being taken at No. 76 overall, 87 picks ahead of Edwards’ current ADP. If you’re telling me I can get a RB who averaged five yards per carry and led his position in rushing attempts for what might be the offense with the most rushing attempts in football outside the Top 50 at his position, how can I not be overwhelmed with excitement? Gus Edwards is going to be an absolute steal on draft day.