Does an NFL RB truly need two functioning legs? Not if you are Baltimore Ravens RB J.K. Dobbins in 2022. Recovering from injury, his right leg was “super fast,” but his left leg was still lagging. With Dobbins’ injury history, what can we expect from him in fantasy football this year?
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What Happened to J.K. Dobbins?
Even though Dobbins is entering his fourth year in the league, he has only played 23 games over three seasons. Dobbins played a full season his rookie year, but in 2021, he hurt his right knee in the final preseason game, tore his ACL, and missed the entire season.
He returned in 2022, hoping to put the injury behind him, but he had a tough time getting off the ground. First playing in Week 3, he finished the season with just over 500 rushing yards and two TDs.
History shows us that most players struggle to return to previous production the season immediately following an ACL injury. On the positive side, this might speak well to the potential of Dobbins to bounce back in 2023.
Later in 2022, Dobbins suffered another knee injury in Week 6 (after only four weeks) and was placed on IR. He returned in Week 14 to play the season’s final four games. His highest fantasy finish was RB9 in those four games, and he finished 2022 as RB52.
In mid-July, a report posited that Dobbins would begin the 2023 training camp on the PUP list. It was assumed that he was still dealing with the nagging knee injury from the end of last season.
However, about a month later, Dobbins was activated off the PUP, almost as quickly as he was put on. It was unclear what exactly prompted the placement on the PUP. He returned to practice several weeks later.
JK Dobbins (contract bluff, knee) back in practice and looks to be moving well. pic.twitter.com/VqIEVh8RUK
— Adam Levitan (@adamlevitan)
The week of August 21, Dobbins spoke for the first time with the media. He was asked about his absence from camp and paused before answering.
He responded, “That’s a tough question; I was just being cautious. I want to be there for my teammates, and that’s all it was. My teammates understood what was going on.”
What Can Baltimore Do If Dobbins Misses Time?
If Dobbins’ injury continues, the Ravens would have to lean on Gus Edwards, Justice Hill, and Melvin Gordon, who was signed to a one-year deal when Dobbins went on the PUP.
The Gordon signing was clearly a move for veteran depth. But it is hard to imagine a 30-year-old RB taking the lead in a Ravens backfield who loves to run. Gordon only managed 318 yards rushing in 2022, his final year in Denver.
Edwards should take the reins if Dobbins goes down, like he has done before. Still, Edwards is no stranger to the injury bug either. We may see more rushing from Lamar Jackson to compensate.
In the four games Edwards played with Dobbins sidelined, his highest fantasy finish was RB8 (his worst was RB67). He accumulated almost 200 yards on the ground and three TDs during that span but was far from consistently effective.
With Dobbins on the PUP and Edwards only at OTAs, Justice Hill has had an opportunity to make a name for himself — he is rumored to have been having a great camp. Hill has had many practices with the first team, and John Harbaugh has spoken highly of his effort.
How Does This Affect Dobbins’ Fantasy Ranking?
This is Dobbins’ final year on his rookie contract, and we often see players have great success “auditioning” for the future in their fifth year. A lot has been talked about the addition of OC Todd Monken to the Ravens, suggesting that more passing could be in the cards. Overall, the talk around Baltimore has been positive, with the Ravens currently having the seventh-highest odds of winning the Super Bowl.
If the offense takes a leap under Monken, we could see more usage of Dobbins in the passing game. Even with a small sample size, Dobbins has gotten targets, his most in 2020 with 24 targets that translated to 120 yards.
MORE: 2023 Dynasty ROOKIE RB Rankings
If Dobbins missing camp was more about his dissatisfaction over his current contract situation, he might be healthier than we all think and ready to have a fantastic bounce-back fantasy season. There is also a clear difference in success that RBs have the second year after returning from an ACL injury than the first year. Our PFN Consensus Rankings have him at RB17.
Dobbins has said that he will have a big 2023 season if given the same volume of carries as other big RBs in the league. Dobbins said, “It’ll be a real good year. I feel amazing. I’m just going to leave it at that because I feel so good.”
𝗧𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚: #Ravens star RB JK Dobbins says he’ll have a big 2023 season if he has the same volume of carries as the other big name runningbacks, via @AroundTheNFL
“If I get the volume of some of the other guys," Dobbins said, "it'll be a real good year. I feel amazing. I… pic.twitter.com/kZzzlFaUlY
— JPAFootball (@jasrifootball)
