Baltimore Ravens

Head Coach: John Harbaugh (9th year)
Offensive Coordinator: Marc Trestman (2nd year)
Defensive Coordinator: Dan Pees (5th year)

Depth Chart

Quarterback: Joe Flacco, Ryan Mallett
Running Back: Justin Forsett, Buck Allen, Kenneth Dixon (r), Lorenzo Taliaferro, Terrance West
Wide Receiver: Steve Smith Sr, Mike Wallace, Kamar Aiken, Breshad Perriman
Tight End: Ben Watson, Crockett Gillmore, Maxx Williams, Dennis Pitta
Kicker: Justin Tucker
Defense/Spec Teams: 2015 – Finished 8th in yards against and 24th in points against. Finished 17th in sacks and 32nd in interceptions.

Coaching Philosophy

Marc Trestman begins his second year as offensive coordinator of the Ravens and runs a version of the west coast offense. He runs quite a few sets out of the spread offense, gets players in motion and spreads out the receivers. They might not have that superstar wide receiver, but they do have a deep group, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see them spread the wealth around in the passing game. What Trestman might be known for the most however, is involving the running back in the receiving game. Matt Forte caught 74 balls in 2013 and 102 in 2014 under Trestman, so look for the Ravens running backs to catch a few balls in 2015.

Fantasy Outlook

Ravens Quarterbacks

Ravens quarterback, Joe Flacco was having a very nice season until he tore both his ACL and MCL in Week 11 against the Rams, causing him to miss the rest of the year.  If you were to extrapolate his numbers to see what he would have finished with if he would have completed the season, he could have reached 4,500 yards, which would have been a career high. His touchdowns were on pace to see a slight regression from the 27 he had in 2014, but considering he lost rookie, Breshad Perriman for the entire season and Steve Smith in Week 8 to a ruptured Achilles, he still performed very well considering the circumstances. It looks like he should be healthy for the start of the 2016 season and with Steve Smith back and Mike Wallace now in the fold, I think he could have a very nice year. My prediction is that he will throw for over 4,000 yards and 25 touchdowns, and if he can just get those touchdowns up to around 30, he could be bordering on QB1 territory. I love Marc Trestman and what he can do for an offense, so I’m putting Flacco on my list of QB2’s that have a bit of upside.

Ravens Running Backs

Justin Forsett may be getting a little older, but he still can has some fantasy production left in him.

The competition for carries in the Ravens backfield will be a competition worth monitoring in training camp this summer. It appears the early favorite to lead them in touches is 30 year old, Justin Forsett. Forsett missed the last six games of 2015 with a broken arm, but in the nine games he completed, he averaged over 16 rush attempts per game, so they feel confident enough in him to let him carry the load. Considering his age and competition, I think he may see a few less carries and see roughly 12 or 13 attempts per game in 2016. That would put him around 900 or so yards and I can see him chipping in six or seven touchdowns as well. While I expect him to be involved in the passing game, I think primary receiving duties will belong to Javorius “Buck” Allen. Allen came on in relief of Forsett last season and while he didn’t run the ball particularly well (3.8 yards per carry), he was a threat in the receiving game. He had at least five receptions in four of the last five games of the season, and that included a 12 reception game in Week 12 against the Dolphins. So while I see Forsett leading the Ravens in rushes, I also see Allen leading them in receptions. Right now in PPR drafts, Forsett is going in the seventh and eighth rounds which is appropriate, but Allen is being drafted in the 14th round. I would stay away from him in non-PPR leagues, but if you get a point per reception, I wouldn’t hesitate to take him as early as the tenth or eleventh round. If you’re looking for later round values, Allen could be a guy to look at.

Maybe the reason he’s falling in drafts is because the Ravens selected rookie, Kenneth Dixon in the fourth round of the NFL draft this year. Dixon is an excellent receiver out of the backfield and received Pro Football Focus’ second highest grade for receiving among this year’s running back class. He’s not necessarily good at getting yards after contact and has had issues with fumbles, but at least initially, he could find himself working himself into playing time on third downs. He’s currently out with a grade one MCL sprain, so if he misses any extended time it could set him back a bit, but it’s a situation to monitor over the next few weeks. While I don’t expect a huge role this season for him, he could be a PPR monster for years to come in PPR leagues under Marc Trestman and one of my favorite dynasty league targets. Finally, don’t buy the hype every time you hear someone is tearing it up in training camp. Supposedly Terrance West is “tearing it up” in camp so far. It’s easy to look good without pads and I don’t see any fantasy production from him this year.

Ravens Wide Receivers

If anyone can come back from a double rupture of the Achilles, it’s Steve Smith.

I am going to go on record and say that the Ravens may have the wide receiver group that is hardest to predict from a fantasy production perspective. There is Steve Smith Sr, who is 37 years old and returning from a “double rupture” of his Achilles. There is Breshad Perriman, who was the Ravens first round draft pick last year who missed all of last season to a PCL tear and then had setbacks to that injury. He is also currently recovering from another knee injury and is now questionable for Week 1. They added big play threat, Mike Wallace who is now on his fourth different team in the past five years and could be a nice target for Flacco who throws a nice, deep ball. Finally, there is Kamar Aiken, who played very well for the Ravens downs the stretch last year. In his last nine games, he had at least five receptions and scored double digit fantasy points (PPR) in each of those games, and is entering his third season in the league.

So what do I expect from them this year? Let’s start with the easy one. I am not a Mike Wallace fan and if you have him in your lineup, he’s going to hurt you way more often than he will help you. He is good for a few good weeks a year and then the rest of the time he will get you two or three catches for 40 or 50 yards and kill your team. I’m staying away. Steve Smith was fantastic last year as he had at least five receptions and scored double digit fantasy points in five of his seven games. His injury is a tough one to come back from however, but if anyone is tough enough to do it, Steve Smith is that guy. He’s currently being drafted as the 44th wide receiver off the board in the ninth round and while I’m nervous about his health, I think that presents pretty good value for his upside. Kamar Aiken is going currently as the 48th wide receiver off the board in the tenth round and in PPR leagues, I think that is fantastic value. I feel that he will be the move the chains guy for the Ravens and earned himself a role in the offense. In non-PPR leagues I would probably stay away from Aiken, however. Finally, I love Breshad Perriman as a late round flier. He’s currently the 72nd receiver off the board and has the talent to be a nice WR3 or so for your fantasy team. He could be a bust if his knee continues to have “ow-ies” as my three year old would say, but no one drafts a sure thing in the 13th round. Go for the win, and look late to Perriman!

Ravens Tight Ends

The Ravens have a plethora of tight ends to go with their receiving unit. They brought in Ben Watson of the Saints, to presumably lead the unit and he is coming off a career year where he finished as the seventh highest scoring fantasy, tight end in 2015. They also have Crockett Gillmore who performed admirably for Baltimore last year and won’t hand over the job to Watson without a fight. Throw in Maxx Williams who was their second round draft pick last year and the perennially injured Dennis Pitta and we have ourselves a mess! Here’s how I think it goes down. Watson will lead the group, but with the depth that they have, I don’t think he will have enough opportunity to be anything more than a mid range TE2. Personally, I’m staying away from all four of them in season long leagues this season.

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