It’s never too early to check in on player news ahead of the 2022 season, and our news desk has you covered. Let’s take a look at the latest news and notes around the NFL. J.K. Dobbins hopes to be ready for the start of the season. Coming off a major injury in 2021, what should fantasy mangers expect in 2022? Let’s check in on Dobbins’ fantasy football outlook for 2022.
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J.K. Dobbins could potentially be ready for training camp
Baltimore Ravens RB J.K. Dobbins “has a chance” to be ready for training camp, and it is “hopeful” that he will be ready for the start of the season, according to head coach John Harbaugh. (Source: Jonas Shaffer on Twitter)
Fantasy Impact: The 23-year-old back tore his ACL in the 2021 preseason, causing him to miss the entirety of the regular season. In 2020, Dobbins played 15 games, rushing for 805 yards and nine TDs. The Ravens have one of the top offensive lines in the NFL, meaning if he is healthy, he immediately becomes a high-end RB2. His current ADP is 41, so he is not receiving much of an “unknown injury” discount, and fantasy managers can’t expect much in the passing game. Harbaugh stated that fellow RB Gus Edwards is also on track to begin the season, and he is a handcuff must for anyone rostering Dobbins.
By Kelly Kirby
J.K. Dobbins 2022 Fantasy Football Outlook
Running backs tied to a mobile quarterback are often short-changed when it comes to the passing game. For as well as J.K. Dobbins performed in fantasy football from Weeks 11-17 in full PPR (RB11) during the 2020 season, guess who outscored him… J.D. McKissic. That’s because McKissic caught 37 passes versus Dobbins’ three.
Guys like Derrick Henry can overcome the lack of receiving work because they are entrenched bell cows, but that’s not the case with Dobbins in Baltimore with Gus Edwards also in the mix. Dobbins only slightly out-touched Edwards 86-74 down the stretch in 2020.
It would be pure ignorance to assume that Dobbins will take over the backfield considering Edwards has been excellent with every opportunity he has received.
Dobbins also ran extremely hot when it came to scoring touchdowns, scoring at least one TD in every game from Week 11 on. His nine total rushing TDs ranked 12th in the league and nearly doubled his expected output (5.5, 30th) – the sixth-highest difference at the position.
Drafters have to understand that to invest in Dobbins as a late third-rounder or fourth-rounder (RB20, 50th overall ADP) he needs to run hot in the TD category coming off the season-ending ACL injury. They also should expect zero-to-little pass-game work with Jackson’s tendency to not check down along with the additions of receiving backs, veteran Mike Davis and rookie Tyler Badie.
– Andrew Erickson
2022 Consensus Best Ball Rankings
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