After injuring his knee in the first quarter of the Baltimore Ravens–Washington Football Team preseason game, running back J.K. Dobbins is out for the season.
The promising young back suffered a season-ending torn ACL in his left knee, an MRI performed Sunday confirmed, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter.
An MRI today confirmed that Ravens’ RB J.K. Dobbins, one of the top young running backs in the game, suffered a season-ending torn ACL, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 29, 2021
As a rookie in 2020, Dobbins finished with the 13th-best rushing grade (81.6) among running backs, as he totaled 805 rushing yards and nine touchdowns on 134 carries. Dobbins will likely be replaced by fourth-year running back Gus Edwards in the starting lineup, which may not be a bad thing, as Edwards finished fourth in rushing grade (86.5) among running backs last season.
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FANTASY FOOTBALL IMPACT
Adam Schefter reports that the Baltimore Ravens' expectation is that J.K. Dobbins suffered a season-ending knee injury during Friday night's preseason game.
All aboard the fantasy RB2 Gus Bus: Gus Edwards is elevated to the lead running back for the Baltimore Ravens, boosting his PFF consensus fantasy ranking to RB23 in PPR formats. Edwards signed a two-year, $10 million contract in the offseason. Click here to find PFF's 2021 fantasy rankings.
Take a flier on Justice Hall: Justice Hill is now the secondary running back option for the Ravens, making him a priority add in later rounds of fantasy drafts, or an immediate waiver wire pickup in leagues with drafted already completed. Click here to find PFF's 2021 fantasy projections.
More passes for Lamar Jackson: Adding a receiver in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft was notable for Baltimore, as teams that invest such coveted draft capital at the position tend to pass more. Last season among teams that drafted a first-round wide receiver, only the Philadelphia Eagles failed to increase their passing attempts. Without their starting running back, drafters should anticipate a slight uptick in pass attempts for Jackson.
BETTING IMPACT
Ravens are still Week 1 and AFC North favorites. The Ravens are currently 4.5-point favorites Week 1 in Las Vegas, and while some books have taken this number down, running backs usually do not move the point spread in the NFL. They also remain slight favorites at +110 to win the AFC North for the third time in four years, but the upstart Cleveland Browns, at +155, are nipping at their heals. PFF's new Power Rankings Tool offers projections based on 10,000 season simulations given Team Point Spread Ratings, Strength of Schedule and team records.
Gus Edwards' Player Prop. Edwards' prop was around 600.5 yards during the offseason despite that he's gained more than 700 yards in each of his NFL seasons. Look for that number to go up. PFF's Betting Futures Tool reveals betting opportunities within season win total and future markets.
NFL IMPACT
Dobbins was efficient as a rookie. Dobbins had a limited workload last year but was as efficient as any running back in the NFL, averaging 5.8 yards per carry and 3.4 yards after contact person attempt. Click here for PFF's running back rankings.
Baltimore's run game success isn't dependent on elite offensive line play. The Ravens offense creates so much space for their running backs to work. They only ranked 14th in run blocking grade last year yet averaged over 5 yards per carry as a team. Click here for PFF's offensive line rankings.
It's Gus Edwards' time. Edwards should be due for a bigger role and has averaged over 3.0 yards after contact per attempt in every year of his career. Click here for PFF's premium stats.
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