2015 Fantasy Recap
Injuries ravaged the Baltimore Ravens season in 2015. Joe Flacco and Justin Forsett each missed 6 games. Steve Smith Sr missed 8 games and their prized WR from the 2015 draft Breshad Perriman missed the entire season after injuring his knee in practice last July. Leaving only Javorius Allen and Kamar Aiken the only viable fantasy starters for the second half of the season. It should be noted that even when the Ravens were playing with all weapons available they were still only 2 – 5. To matters worse the Ravens D which is usually very solid had a very off year. Last in interceptions and 17th in sacks are not the kind of numbers we are used to from a Ravens D. Between the Swiss cheese secondary, the injury-riddled skill players, and to be perfectly honest just poor execution on both sides of the ball, the Ravens and their fans suffered a long 5 – 11 season and finished 3rd in their division.
Key Additions and Losses
Additions:
- Mike Wallace
- Eric Weddle
- Benjamin Watson
- Kenneth Dixon
Losses:
Quarter Back Fantasy Outlook
Grade: C +
Running Back Fantasy Outlook
The Ravens have plenty of depth at running back this year. Great for the Ravens, bad for fantasy owners. They have Justin Forsett, the aging veteran, Javorius Allen, last year’s high hopes rookie, and Kenneth Dixon, this year’s high hopes rookie. Looks like Forestt is in line to be RB1A and Allen is RB2A. Forsett is coming off a broken arm, which cost him 6 games last year and in those games, Allen had every opportunity to run away with the job and failed to do so. It’s probably the reason why the Ravens went out and drafted Kenneth Dixon in the 4th round. As it stands today with no preseason games played I would have to give the nod to Forsett as the RB to own right now. Mostly because he has an existing relationship with Flacco and his ability to catch out of the backfield. Allen is my second choice only because he did not play badly when he had the chance, but he certainly did not play great either. As of right now Kenneth Dixon is my sleeper or dynasty stash of the trio. I consider this backfield very fluid and could easily change once preseason games get underway. No matter what happens though I do not see any of these guys cracking the top 15, in fact, any of these guys are prime candidates for zero running back rosters.
Grade: B in (PPR), C (standard)
Wide Receiver Fantasy Outlook
Grade: B
Tight End Fantasy Outlook
Seems like every skill position for the Ravens has plenty of depth and the tight ends are no exception. Benjamin Watson, Maxx Williams, Crockett Gillmore, and you have to throw in Dennis Pitta right now. Coming off his best year Watson moves from the Saints over to the Ravens this offseason. The biggest concern here is his age, he will be turning 36 before the season is over. But outside of Pitta who has not played since Sept 2014, Watson is the most experienced and reliable tight end on the roster. Williams was a popular rookie pick last year, but never really put it all together, but there is hope he takes a step forward this year. Gillmore has shown flashes of talent, but injuries keep him from contributing on a regular basis. The biggest question here is if Pitta somehow gets back on the field does he rekindle his bromance with Flacco? There is way too much risk for me to even consider it. So who do you draft? In a redraft league I think I take Watson, he offers the most likely reliability at the position. In a dynasty format, I look to stash Williams, with another year or 2 of development he could become a productive tight end.
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Grade: C –
Defensive Fantasy Outlook
The Ravens entered the league in 1996 and since then I cannot remember a time when the Ravens D was not good if not special. Well except for last year of course. They were not good last year period. Last in interceptions, 17th in sacks, and 21st in fumble recoveries. Good news is they can’t get much worse, right? I really like the signing of Eric Weddle, that secondary was embarrassing last year and they really need a guy that can get that unit to gel, and Eric can be that guy. The other problem this D has is age. While the Ravens have added a lot of youth to their D, the current starters are all long in the tooth. That suggests that the Ravens could be in for a transition year or two here as the old guys help usher in the young. The faster the young get up to speed to faster the D returns to relevancy. Until then I would not be looking to add the Ravens D this year.
Grade: D
Michael Kelley is a member of the Going For 2 team. You can check out his website Dynasty League Problems for more writings or follow him on Twitter @mikekelleydlp.
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