Fantasy Football: Justin Forsett Fallout

The Ravens cut running back Justin Forsett on Saturday. What does that mean for you in fantasy football with Week 1 rapidly approaching?

On Saturdy, the Baltimore Ravens made news across the NFL and in the fantasy football realm when they released starting running back Justin Forsett. Not only did many expect Forsett to be the starter, but they also had plenty of money invested in the veteran.

Also having an investment in Forsett are many fantasy football owners. Though he shouldn’t ever have been a No. 1 back, this move could severely change running back depth. So what does this all mean for you as a fantasy football owner with or without stock in the Ravens backfield and/or in Justin Forsett?

Let’s figure it out by breaking the situation down for both the Ravens and Forsett.

The Ravens

As of now, the Ravens backfield is a two-man committee with Terrance West and Javorius “Buck” Allen. West, should be the Ravens starting running back according to ESPN’s Baltimore Ravens reporter Jamison Hensley. West reminded people of his existence when he finished with two rushing touchdowns in the Ravens preseason opener. He did not play in the Ravens fourth preseason game which was a good sign as often there are no big-time contributors playing in Week 4 of the preseason.

Buck Allen, who was already expected to see time as a third-down back, should see a boost in carries on top of his assumed targets in the passing game. Allen finished with 45 receptions as a rookie in 2015 and chipped in 11 receptions during the 2016 preseason.

The Ravens backfield was once a complete fantasy football mess because there were so many running backs involved. However, over the last week the Ravens have placed RB Lorenzo Taliaferro on the PUP list (costing him the first six games of the regular season) and have lost RB Kenneth Dixon for about a month with a torn MCL.

With the release of Forsett, this five man cluster (bleep) has some clarity. In all leagues, Terrance West is an immediate pickup. In PPR leagues, Allen is worth an add.

If you are in a league where you have an IR spot available, Dixon is worth an add and stash in that spot. Dixon is a rookie fourth-round pick out of Louisiana Tech who had 107 rushing yards on 22 carries in three preseason games. There’s no reason to believe the rookie can’t make some noise in the Ravens backfield when he gets back to full health.

With all of this said, West or Allen shouldn’t be inserted in your fantasy football lineup today. This is still a “wait-and-see” situation.

Justin Forsett

First thing first, you probably want to drop Forsett in order to add West or Allen (in that order). If somebody beat you to the punch, that’s okay. If you are in a eight or ten-team league, there’s a good possibility there’s players on the waiver wire who have decent to good upside. If you want to drop Forsett for a player like that, it’s hard to argue that logic.

In a 12-team league or bigger, you should probably just hold on to Forsett for the next couple days. That’s simply because we don’t know what team he will sign with. If he signs with a team who has question marks in their backfield (see Redskins, Colts) he could make an immediate impact. What if he signs with Denver and reunites with Gary Kubiak? In 2014, Forsett ran for 1,266 yards and 8 touchdowns in his offense and C.J. Anderson is far from a feature RB in Denver.

We covered all the basics so we are good now right?

Well…

must read: You Drafted Wrong: A Fantasy Football Letter

Jamison Hensley has also reported Forsett could actually re-sign with the Ravens. If that happens that would mean…uh…I’m honesty not sure what the [bleep] that would mean. If that does happen, fantasy owners would be in a more complicated “wait and see” situation.

Until (if) that happens, Terrance West is priority number one on the waiver wire.