10 Lessons the 2016 NFL Preseason Has Taught Us So Far
The Ravens Are a Team to Avoid in Fantasy Football
Steve Smith should be one of the starting wide receivers for the Baltimore Ravens this year, as he ranked 27th in Reception NEP per target among the 86 wide receivers with at least 50 targets in 2015. Still, the doubly-ruptured Achilles’ injury he suffered last season is so severe that it’s hard to imagine him regaining that explosiveness. It’s unclear which of Breshad Perriman (also coming off active/PUP), Mike Wallace, or Kamar Aiken would join Smith in the starting lineup, or if this group is deep enough to withstand another bout of injuries like they had last year.
The running backs, too, are a mess. Veteran Justin Forsett is the nominal starter but is much closer by our projections to a committee chairman in front of Javorius Allen, Terrance West, and Kenneth Dixon. Predicting who will lead them in fantasy points each week is a risky gambit.
The tight ends aren’t so much a mess as they are impossible to predict. Who will start? The athletically-talented second-rounder, Maxx Williams? The reliable blocker and red-zone threat, Crockett Gillmore? Or the wily veteran who caught 74 passes in 2015, Benjamin Watson? For what it’s worth, Gillmore had the best Reception NEP per target out of any of them -- ranking seventh in this metric out of the 44 tight ends with at least 30 targets. Still, we project Watson to lead the Ravens’ tight ends.
Preseason action has done nothing to clear these situations up. Your guess is as good as mine.
