Ravens Fantasy Football Outlook for Week 1: Should You Start Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry, Zay Flowers, Mark Andrews and More?

The NFL regular season kicks off Thursday with a fantastic matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens.

As we do before every primetime game, FantasySP is here to break down the matchup and the fantasy outlooks for players on both teams. We already discussed the Chiefs and now will talk about the Ravens.

Looking for start/sit help? Be sure to check out the FantasySP Who Should I Start tool.

Lamar Jackson Fantasy Outlook

Jackson was the 2023 MVP, but failed to lead his team to the Super Bowl, which is what he cares most about. He’s got some new offensive playmakers around him and is primed for another big fantasy season.

In 16 games last season, Jackson completed 307 of his 457 passes for 3,678 yards, 24 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He added 821 yards and five touchdowns on 148 rushes.

In the AFC Championship Game against the Chiefs last season, Jackson was just 20-of-37 passing, but for 272 yards. He threw a touchdown and interception. Jackson added 54 rushing yards on eight attempts, caught a 13-yard pass and also lost a fumble.

It’s a tough matchup whenever a quarterback faces the Kansas City defense, and Jackson is ranked eighth in the projections for week 1. That’s about as low as you ever will see him projected.

Running Back Fantasy Outlook

One of the new faces on the Baltimore offense is running back Derrick Henry. He has Justice Hill and Rasheen Ali on the active roster to back him up right now, but practice squad backs Chris Collier or John Kelly might get bumped up with Ali injured.

Henry has spent his entire eight-year NFL career with the Titans. In 17 games last season, Henry had 1,167 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns on 280 attempts. He added 214 receiving yards and no scores on 28 receptions and 36 targets.

Hill is the only back on the active roster/practice squad who was with Baltimore last season. In 16 games, Hill had 387 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 84 attempts, while adding 206 receiving yards and a score on 28 catches and 39 targets. 

Ali was a fifth-round pick of the team in the most recent draft. He was limited in practice with a neck injury on Monday, so his status for this week’s game is up in the air.

Henry is going to be the team’s workhorse though, and it shows in the projections. He’s ranked fourth in PPR formats and is the only Baltimore back ranked inside the top 61.

Wide Receiver Fantasy Outlook

Zay Flowers established himself as the best Baltimore receiver in 2023. Rashod Bateman and Nelson Agholor are likely to start around him, while Tylan Wallace, Deonte Harty and rookie Devontez Walker are backup options on the active roster.

In 16 games in his rookie season, Flowers had 858 receiving yards and five touchdowns on 77 receptions and 108 targets. He added 56 yards and a touchdown on eight rushing attempts.

In the AFC title game, Flowers had 115 receiving yards and a touchdown on five catches and eight targets. He added four rushing yards on two attempts.

Agholor played in 17 games for the Ravens in 2023. He made 35 catches on 45 targets for 381 yards and four touchdowns. Agholor had one grab on three targets for 39 yards against the Chiefs in the playoffs.

Bateman appeared in 16 regular season games. He made 32 catches on 56 targets for 367 yards and one touchdown. Bateman had one catch on three targets for two yards against KC in the postseason.

Harty has struggled to make an impact over the past couple seasons. He should return punts and kickoffs, so he could earn some fantasy points in that fashion though.

Wallace has just 67 receiving yards over his first three seasons, so he’s not likely to be heavily involved. Walker should be monitored closely. He was a fourth-round pick and could eventually push Bateman or Agholor out of the starting lineup.  

In the weekly projections, Flowers is the top Baltimore wideout, coming in 37th, while Bateman sits in 68th. No other Ravens appear in the top 75.

Tight End Fantasy Outlook

Expect tight end Mark Andrews to factor in heavily offensively with so few proven pass catchers on the team. Isaiah Likely is a pretty good No. 2 TE as well.

Andrews was third on the team with 544 receiving yards in 2023 despite only playing in 10 games. He had 45 grabs on 61 targets and scored six touchdowns.

Andrews was held to 15 yards on two catches and targets against the Chiefs in the postseason.

Likely played in 17 regular season games, making 30 grabs on 40 targets. He went for 411 yards and five touchdowns, which was a little underwhelming considering Andrews missed so much time.

Likely had 16 yards on two catches and three targets in the playoff game against KC.

Andrews is the third-ranked TE for week 1, while Likely also makes the top 24, sliding in 23rd.

Kicker and Defense Outlook

Justin Tucker is back and is still one of the top kickers in the NFL.

He was 32-of-37 on his regular season field goal attempts. He made 51 of his 52 extra point attempts. Tucker made his only field goal and extra point in the playoff game against the Chiefs.

Tucker is the 15th-ranked kicker going into week 1.

Baltimore looks to be a better-than-average defense heading into 2024. Roquan Smith, Kyle Hamilton and Nnamdi Madubuike are back to lead the unit, while first-round cornerback Nate Wiggins offers some help in the secondary.

Against a top-end Chiefs’ offense, the Ravens’ defense ranks 26th heading into week 1.

Who to Start in Week 1

This is a great matchup to kick off the 2024 NFL regular season. It should be a tight and entertaining contest, with two of the league’s best battling for a massive early season win. I like the Chiefs to prevail 24-20. Check out more odds and betting details here.

The matchup is not great for Jackson, but you didn’t spend an early pick on him to sit him in week 1. As long as he doesn’t have several turnovers, he should be able to put up a respectable fantasy total between his passing and rushing numbers.

I love Henry in fantasy this season and think he’ll be the best Baltimore fantasy player in week 1. He should be starting regardless of your league setup.

I would not trust any other Baltimore backs with a starting spot in week 1, even in really deep leagues. If Ali is inactive, Hill should get almost all the touches Henry doesn’t, but it won’t be a lot, and unless Hill scores, I don’t envision him having a big fantasy output.

Flowers is the only starting wideout candidate in standard leagues for Baltimore. Someone has to catch Jackson’s passes, and after his good showing against KC in the playoffs, I’d be fine letting Flowers start as my final wideout in a standard league setup.

After that, Bateman and Agholor are deep league starting options, but I really don’t trust either one to have a big day and would try to avoid both. Walker, Harty and Wallace are how I’d rank the final three, but I really hope you don’t have to actually decide whether or not to start these guys.

Andrews is one of the top fantasy TEs for a reason, and with the lack of pass catching receivers in Baltimore, needs to be started every week he’s healthy. The matchup isn’t good this week, but on volume alone, you have to trust Andrews to put up at least respectable numbers.

Likely is a starting option in deeper leagues, or where two tight ends are started. Again though, I’d try to avoid him if possible.

I think Tucker is in store for a better fantasy day than he’s projected. He’s always pretty accurate, and I think he gets a couple field goals and extra point tries, so I’d be happy to start Tucker.

I typically like the Baltimore D/ST, but against the Chiefs’ offense that typically takes care of the ball very well, I’d avoid them in week 1 if I could. Even if it’s a lower-scoring game than I envision, I don’t see KC turning the ball over much, not leaving much room for a big fantasy day for the D/ST.