The 2-1 Baltimore Ravens will take on the 1-2 Cleveland Browns on Sunday, in a game both teams will see as a possible bounce-back week after losing in Week 3.
To help gear you up for fantasy football in Week 4, I’ve gone over some of the Ravens you might have on your fantasy team. Here, I’ll offer my thoughts on players to start, and players to sit this week.
START – QB, Lamar Jackson
Don’t want to seem like a broken record here, but I will keep reminding people that they can start Lamar Jackson in fantasy football with confidence until I am certain people are getting the message.
Jackson managed “only” 24 fantasy points in Week 3 against the Chiefs, a game in which he was far from his best as a passer. But his rushing ability once again hinted at the safe weekly floor Jackson has, making him a player that only his bye week should keep out of your lineups.
The Browns haven’t allowed many quarterbacks to go off against them so far in 2019, with both of their last two opponents being held below 20 fantasy points. They’ve only allowed 36 rushing yards to quarterbacks so far this season. Don’t be surprised if this total is surpassed on Sunday. Jackson has rushed for 166 yards in his last two games.
START – RB, Mark Ingram
Hopefully, some people ignored my advice last week and kept Mark Ingram in their lineups. Despite trailing for much of the game against the Chiefs, Ingram still enjoyed a day for the ages in fantasy. He saw a season-high 16 rushing attempts, three of which ended with a trip to the end zone.
Ingram is No.5 among all running backs in rushing yards and total PPR points through three weeks. The Browns have been stingy towards opposing running backs on the ground in 2019, allowing 93 yards or less in all three games. The presence and rushing ability of Jackson, however, ensure that defenses must respect the quarterback in the ground game. This is good news for the Ravens running backs, but especially Ingram.
Don’t expect another three-touchdown day from him, though. Although he does have two or more rushing scores in two of his first three games as a Raven.
START – WR, Marquise Brown
Marquise Brown’s fantasy output has gone down in each game since his scintillating debut. However, he still leads all rookies in receiving yards with 282, good for No. 6 overall at the wide receiver position. Only two wideouts have more air yards than Brown.
The Browns are seriously beaten up in the defensive backfield and have been more and more generous to opposing wide receivers as the season has progressed. This culminated in allowing a whopping 62 PPR points to the Los Angeles Rams receivers in Week 3.
The stout performance of the Ravens offensive line has kept Jackson upright and able to take his shots downfield. No quarterback has attempted more deep pass attempts than Jackson this season. He is averaging eight such attempts per game. Brown has seen eight such targets so far this season. His target per snap rate is 22.3%, the third-highest at the wide receiver position. When he is on the field, the Ravens will look to use him.
START – TE, Mark Andrews
Mark Andrews endured a disappointing outing against the Chiefs in Week 3, catching three of his seven targets for a mere 15 yards. After back to back 20+ plus fantasy points in his first two games, the 4.5 he amassed in Arrowhead saw 24 tight ends finish ahead of him in PPR scoring.
Andrews has a prime bounce-back spot against the Browns, however. The raw statistics show that the Browns have not allowed much of anything to the position in the last two weeks, allowing a mere 3.5 PPR points combined. However, if we look deeper, we can see that the New York Jets and Los Angeles Rams sent three targets combined the way of their tight ends.
Given that the Ravens have targeted Andrews at least seven times in all three games, and on a healthy 22.9% of his snaps in total, we should be able to start Andrews with confidence here. The last time a team targeted their tight end more than five times against the Browns was in Week 1 when Delanie Walker took them for two touchdowns.
SIT – RB, Justice Hill
Many people had high hopes that Justice Hill could carve out a role in the Ravens offense in 2019, even with Mark Ingram hogging the bulk of the carries. It has not happened. Hill has commanded a mere 14.9% opportunity share, a percentage of the total team running back carries and targets. This is No. 70 among running backs.
Hill had seven carries in Week 1, but only two in the two games since then. He has also caught one of his five targets in 2019. The Browns are no pushovers in the ground game, which combined with Hill’s limited opportunities make him a complete nonfactor in this outing.
Hill is not only not a viable fantasy option in Week 4. He’s a player that you should give serious thought as to whether you even need him on your seasonal teams’ bench.
