2022 Baltimore Ravens Odds, Schedule, & Fantasy Football Team Preview
The 2022 NFL season is right around the corner! We continue our look at every NFL team with the Baltimore Ravens – a franchise that seems to be in a bit of limbo at the moment. Is Lamar Jackson happy in Baltimore? Can the defense rebound after a rash of injuries derailed the 2021 campaign? This team could be one of the most improved teams in the league in 2022, or they could continue to disappoint.
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2022 Baltimore Ravens Schedule, Lines, and Best Bets
Projected Odds, derived & modified from data originally published by Sean Koerner here.
Win Total and Total Games Favored:
9.5 (-120) / 13 Games Favored ( 2 Big Favorites / 0 Big Dogs)
The good news about the Ravens disappointing in 2021 is that it benefits their schedule this season. Since they finished in last place in the AFC North, their two “wild card” games on the schedule are against last place opponents. This gets them matchups against the Giants and Jaguars, both of which should be very winnable games. The AFC North is a tough division, but the Steelers should not be as good this year, and who knows where the Browns are headed if Deshaun Watson can’t play.
As usual, this team will ride with the success or failure of Lamar Jackson and the rushing attack, but the defense is the key for me. Expect them to be much improved after a rash of injuries simply left the team unable to compete on that side of the ball late in the 2021 season.
Best Bet: Over 9.5 Wins // -145 on Caesars
With 17 games on the schedule now, we only need a 10-7 record for this to hit. The Ravens start the year with four straight games against the AFC East, and it’s not a stretch for them to go 3-1 against that division. As I mentioned above, their “wild card” games are against the Giants and Jaguars. If the team stays healthy, a two game improvement upon the record from a year ago feels almost like a no brainer. I don’t mind sprinkling a little bit on them to make the Super Bowl at +1100 on BetMGM, too.
Baltimore Ravens Props
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Favorite Prop – Mark Andrews OVER 1,100 receiving yards
Andrews has established himself as one of the top tight ends in the NFL. He doesn’t get as much attention as the likes of Travis Kelce because he doesn’t have an elite passing quarterback throwing him the ball, but Andrews is the clear #1 target in this offense. He caught 107 passes for 1,361 yards a year ago, and that was with Tyler Huntley throwing the ball for six games. Assuming both Andrews and Lamar Jackson stay healthy, he should fly over both the 95.5 receptions and 1,100 receiving yards props that are currently posted.
Baltimore Ravens Fantasy Football Projections
Team Rankings and Ratings
Offense Ranks:Rank 17/ Very Strong Rush / Average Pass/ Rank 10 Points For)
Defense Ranks:Rank 14/ Average Rush / Average pass / Rank 21 Points Allowed)
Opponent Strength – Rushing:6 difficult vs. rush. 5 soft vs. rush.
Opponent Strength – Passing:8 difficult vs. pass. 4 soft vs, pass.
From a fantasy perspective, the Baltimore schedule is fairly neutral. I will enjoy using Lamar Jackson and Andrews/Bateman in fantasy friendly matchups, but those aren’t going to happen every week. I do expect the team to continue to rotate running backs, so don’t expect a workhorse to emerge there.
The Baltimore defense became one that you would want to attack with opposing players late last season, but again, that was primarily due to injury. The team was without all four starting defensive backs for a while, and no team in the NFL can overcome that. With newfound health and some offseason reinforcements, expect significant improvement from this defensive unit in 2022.
Baltimore Ravens Top Fantasy Football Plays & Picks
Noteworthy Depth Chart
QB: Lamar Jackson – Underdog Rank: 43 (ADP 52 / 20.93% ADP Gap)
RB: J.K. Dobbins – Underdog Rank: 54 (ADP 58 / 7.41% ADP Gap)
RB: Gus Edwards – Underdog Rank: 156 (ADP 160 / 2.56% ADP Gap)
WR: Rashod Bateman – Underdog Rank: 46 (ADP 55 / 19.57% ADP Gap)
WR: Devin Duvernay – Underdog Rank: 162 (ADP 197 / 21.6% ADP Gap)
WR: James Proche – Underdog Rank: 243 (ADP 243 – 0% ADP Gap)
TE: Mark Andrews – Underdog Rank: 23 (ADP 19 / -17.39% ADP Gap)
*Note: Premium Subscribers can find updated rankings for Underdog Fantasy in the content schedule here.
New Additions of Note: Morgan Moses, OT // Marcus Williams, S // Michael Pierce, DT
Departures of Note: Marquise Brown, WR // Sammy Watkins, WR
The Ravens spent the offseason attempting to shore up the offensive line and a defense that was ravaged by injuries a year ago. They also drafted safety Kyle Hamilton and center Tyler Linderbaum in the first round to continue to shore up these areas. While this doesn’t directly correlate to new players with fantasy production, it does help the existing assets. The draft day trade of Marquise Brown and the departure of Sammy Watkins thins out an already struggling group of receivers.
Baltimore is never the most exciting team to target from a fantasy perspective. You can always go for the dual threat upside of Lamar Jackson, but he tends to be picked too early compared to his value in season long drafts. The team will continue to rotate running backs, suffocating the value of each one. Perhaps the best way to approach this team is to look to the pass catchers. Despite relatively limited volume, both Rashad Bateman and Mark Andrews are going to soak up big target shares. The team will be counting on significant development from Bateman in his second season.
Image Credit: Imagn