The 2019 season went pretty much best-case-scenario for the fantasy football options on the Baltimore Ravens. Lamar Jackson singlehandedly won people’s fantasy football finals. As for the Ravens, they secured the #1 seed in the AFC for the first time in their 24-year history… with a week to spare. They did it while keeping Lamar Jackson out of numerous fourth quarters, and week seventeen entirely. The regular season could not have gone better for the Ravens. What should we remember from this 2019 season that isn’t evident from the season-long numbers? Let’s take a look back at what we should remember for the Baltimore Ravens’ fantasy football options in 2020.
What to Remember from the 2019 Baltimore Ravens Season
- Lamar Jackson had a massive QB1 season, posting 43 total touchdowns in just fifteen games. Jackson also did this while sitting at least the fourth quarter in six games Robert Griffin III played at least 13% of offensive snaps in five games, and will start in week seventeen. It was an incredible season for Jackson, and he didn’t even need all of it to produce massive fantasy football numbers.
- Jackson’s touchdowns also came with an incredible 1,206 rushing yards. He did this at a very nice 6.9 yards per carry on the season, which is due to decrease next year. Here’s the rub: even if Jackson cuts his rushing yardage in half, he still would be QB1 on the season. There’s likely a yards per carry and rush attempt decrease coming in 2020, but betting against Lamar Jackson as the QB1 is not advised. If you’re a big Patrick Mahomes fan, I can see that, but having anyone but Lamar and Patrick Mahomes #1 and #2 in some order… come on, dude.
- The Ravens drafted Marquise Brown as the first wide receiver off the board in the 2019 draft. They thought he would be their deep threat option for Lamar Jackson. Unfortunately, injuries nagged the rookie all season and his average depth of target ranked just 43rd in the league, at 10.9 yards per target. This will undoubtedly increase, as Brown battled an ankle injury all season that hindered his productivity. The good news? His Lisfranc fracture didn’t appear on any injury reports after week three.
- The Ravens Defense ended the season among the most fearsome in fantasy football. They allowed the second-fewest, fewest, and third-fewest fantasy points to quarterbacks, running backs, and tight ends, respectively, over the last five weeks of the season. The Ravens allowed the fifteenth-most fantasy points to wide receivers, but that doesn’t fit my narrative. So let’s ignore it, shall we? They started the year allowing 24.6 points per game to opposing teams, including back-to-back 33+ points allowed efforts. If you checked out after the first couple of months this season, you may not have seen the defense turn into a juggernaut to avoid.
- Many tagged Mark Andrews as a 2020 breakout tight end, due to his rapport with Lamar Jackson in 2019. There’s hard to find a cutup of data that dissuades this take. It’s also startling because it means he could be even better next season. He’s fifth in target share but sits 1% out of the second-place tie between Travis Kelce and Zach Ertz. He’s the top tight end in air yards market share. Also, he has the highest depth of target for guys who had at least 25 targets this season. All of this, without topping 57% of his team’s snaps in a given game… probably because they boat raced teams and the Ravens sat starters. Lamar Jackson playing just as well next season is good for Mark Andrews, but if he takes a step back? And it puts Mark Andrews on the field more in 2020? That might be even better.
