Ravens Backfield Fantasy Football Breakdown | Is Keaton Mitchell the Leader Going Forward? Is Gus Edwards Still a Starter? What About Justice Hill?

The Baltimore Ravens are one of six NFL teams on a bye in week 13. That makes it a perfect time to discuss the team’s biggest fantasy questions. 

The Ravens’ backfield remains the team’s biggest question for fantasy owners. It’s been a couple weeks since we last discussed it, so let’s revisit and see if anything has changed.

Explore the best in-season tool to manage lineup/start decisions including predictive waiver analytics to help prioritize waiver pickups, projections, auction values, trade suggestions, trade value charts, rest of season rankings, power rankings, and tons more with Fantasy Assistant. Use our fantasy football trade analyzer to break down trade scenarios.

Recent Showings

That previous story on the Ravens’ backfield was written after week 9, so let’s take a look at the three games since that point. Baltimore lost 33-31 to the Cleveland Browns in week 10 and won 34-20 against the Cincinnati Bengals in week 11 and 20-10 over the Los Angeles Chargers in week 12.

In week 10, Gus Edwards continued to lead the backfield, but Keaton Mitchell and Justice Hill were also involved. Edwards played 28 offensive snaps and got 12 touches, rushing 11 times for 24 yards and a touchdown and catching his lone target for 4 yards. Mitchell played 13 snaps and got four touches, rushing three times for 34 yards and a touchdown and catching a 32-yard pass on two targets. Hill was on the field for 14 snaps and got two touches, rushing twice for 7 yards.

Edwards and Mitchell led the charge in week 11, with Hill playing a bit, but not being heavily involved. Edwards rushed for 62 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries and caught both of his targets for 8 yards across 25 offensive snaps. Mitchell played 24 snaps, rushing eight times for 33 yards and adding an 8-yard reception. Hill played 17 snaps, rushinge once for a yard and also hauling in a 6-yard pass.

Mitchell led the way in week 12, with Edwards and Hill also getting some more work. Mitchell played 33 snaps and got 11 touches, rushing nine times for 64 yards and catching both of his targets for 25 yards. Edwards rushed for 26 yards on eight attempts and hauled in an 11-yard pass across 19 offensive snaps. Hill played 20 snaps and got five touches, rushing five times for 31 yards while failing to catch his lone target.

Updated Fantasy Outlook

Three weeks ago, this was a hard situation to understand, and the three games since then haven’t cleared much up. All three backs are still getting a decent amount of snaps and work.

Looking at week 12 alone, Mitchell looks like the lead back, but Edwards held that role in weeks 10 and 11. Hill looked to be fading out of the picture in weeks 10 and 11, but was more involved again in week 12.

With the Ravens being in the heart of the playoff race, I’m sure they don’t want to put too much on the plate of an undrafted rookie running back (Mitchell). It would make complete sense for the Ravens to continue splitting work between Mitchell and Edwards, but the fact that Hill continues to play a role is maddening for fantasy owners.

The Ravens have dealt with a multitude of injuries at the running back position over the past couple seasons, so maybe splitting the workload is their way of keeping everyone fresh and less susceptible to injuries. Whatever the reasoning might be, it seems to be working, as the team has a 9-3 record and lead in the AFC North standings. 

Going into week 13, the Ravens lead the league by a good margin in rushing yards (1,903). They are second in yards per rush (4.9) and first in touchdowns (22). 

The Ravens love to run the ball, and with tight end Mark Andrews out for a long time, I don’t see that changing at all. I think there’s a good chance all three backs remain involved all season, with the team riding the hot hand each week.

How to Proceed

Our charts show Edwards as the top-owned Baltimore back (97%), while Mitchell is at 73% and Hill at 21%. 

Those are pretty fair numbers for the situation, but if I was in a league and Mitchell was available, I’d definitely add him to my team. There isn’t a defined No. 1 back in Baltimore, and maybe there won’t be all season, but at least stash a guy with the potential to be the lead back on your bench if you’re not comfortable starting him.

Speaking of starting the Baltimore backs, here’s how I’d handle the situation going forward.

The road ahead for the Baltimore backs is rough, as the FantasySP strength of schedule has them with an F grade.

Baltimore has the Los Angeles Rams in week 14, Jacksonville Jaguars in week 15, San Francisco 49ers in Week 16, Miami Dolphins in week 17 and Pittsburgh Steelers in week 18. Just about every matchup is a tough one, with the Steelers being the easiest matchup (and most leagues don’t play week 18).

With what we know now, I’m not really comfortable starting any of the Ravens’ backs, especially against these strong defenses. Edwards and Mitchell should be considered as starters, but I’d be against starting either more often than not. In deeper leagues, they are fine to start, but I wouldn’t expect a big fantasy outing unless they can score. Hill is only a starting option in deeper leagues right now, and I’d do my best to avoid him.

If your league still allows trades, I’d try to get rid of all three backs. Maybe someone has higher hopes for one of them and can trade you a player with more favorable matchups that is a better starting option late in the season. Be sure to check out the trade value charts to come up with fair and reasonable trade offers.