After having his fantasy stock take a hit with a four game suspension, Kenneth Dixon’s stock comes completely off the market with a meniscus injury that will keep him out the entire 2017 season. He can be removed from all draft boards and rankings going forward.
One man’s trash is another’s treasure, so huge stock increase coming for Ravens RB Danny Woodhead. Woodhead cements himself into the pass catching back role for the entire year and doesn’t have to worry about Dixon returning and eating at his touches. Terrance West also receives a boost from the Dixon injury as he’ll likely handle the early down and red zone carries. He becomes an intriguing flex back.
Rapid Reaction to the SOARING #FantasyFootball values of #Ravens RBs Danny Woodhead and Terrance West pic.twitter.com/gW9ijV00qw
— Wolf of Roto Street (@RotoStreetWolf) July 26, 2017
As we’ve learned above, Ravens running back Kenneth Dixon will miss the entire 2017 NFL season with a meniscus injury. This is tough news for the back who looked to have a promising role in the offense starting Week 5 after his four game suspension. So now with Dixon shelved for the year, what does this mean for the Ravens offense?
Danny Woodhead: Woody receives the biggest boost from this news as he’s likely to become one of the hottest commodities at the RB spot this fall. Woodhead has been a PPR monster during his healthy seasons in San Diego and now comes to a Baltimore team that loves throwing to its backs. Last season, Ravens RBs averaged 7.3 receptions per game, second best in the NFL. When Woodhead initially signed, we covered it here and detailed about how he would be used in the offense. Check out the prior article here. He essentially becomes a coveted RB in PPR leagues that can slide right into your RB2 spot with consistent production coming from the ground and air. Even in standard leagues, he’s bound to receive enough work to be owned and featured in lineups. Woodhead’s stock is only climbing, he’s our RB28 right now, and you’ll start seeing him go around rounds four or five based on how much drafters have valued RBs this season.
Terrance West: To me, West greatly fits the mold of a plodder. He’s not a juking/cutting back that rips off 20+ yard runs and rarely dazzles when you watch. Instead, he consistently runs forward for three to four yards and can sometimes be hard to bring down. West figures to get the role of the early-down back who works through the tough yardage. He’s much better suited to handle the team’s share of carries over the smaller and more fragile Woodhead. The volume alone that West should see helps his stock to the point where you could feel comfortable sliding him into your flex spot, or even RB2 if he performs better than expected.
West also appears to be the favorite for goal line work and short yardage situations. The bigger back that he is makes it clear that he should be tasked with those duties, but knowing Woodhead and the skill he possesses makes it just uncertain as to how much of a grip West will have for touches down in the red zone. West showed some promise in 2016, and with a depleted RB stable that just signed Bobby Rainey to a deal, West should be able to carve out a role for himself and for fantasy owners.
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