Breaking Down the Ravens Running Backs for Fantasy Football

October 3, 2014

Justin Berglund takes a look at the Baltimore Ravens backfield and analyzes each NFL running back's fantasy football value, including Lorenzo Taliaferro, Justin Forsett, and Bernard Pierce.

Untangling the Messy Baltimore Ravens Backfield

We’ve been through 4 weeks of fantasy football, and we’ve all had our issues. Lack of production from top stars Jamaal Charles (until this past Monday night), Eddie Lacy and Andre Ellington. The situation and suspension of Adrian Peterson. Stars AJ Green, Brandon Marshall, Doug Martin and others missing time. All this stuff has negatively affected our teams and few of us are lucky enough to have gone through the first four weeks unscathed.

One mess I’ve we've all had a tough time understanding is what's going on with the Baltimore Ravens backfield. Ray Rice, Bernard Pierce, Justin Forsett and Lorenzo Taliaferro all began the preseason on the Ravens’ depth chart, and it has all gone to crap from there, sort of.

With none of these four running backs having a fully defined role the rest of the year, fantasy owners are confused as to what to do with these guys who all have fantasy value once they actually get on the field. Let's attempt to figure out what the hell to do with these guys, thus ending the frustration and saving you from pulling your hair out in the process.

Ray Rice and Bernard Pierce

First let’s get the idiot out of the way: Ray Rice. Reports are saying that he is going to appeal his indefinite suspension in an attempt to have it shortened.

Regardless, even if he does succeed, I don’t see any conceivable way that he plays for any team this season due to the backlash they would get for associating themselves with him so soon after his domestic abuse incident. Rice doesn't need to be owned anywhere except dynasty leagues. Don’t touch him.

Now to the de facto starter after the Ray Rice situation, Bernard Pierce. When the season started, and before Rice's suspension, Pierce was projected to be a top 100 fantasy player. Knowing he was getting at least two starts before Rice came back, Pierce had to make a statement in Week 1. And boom! He goes for 17 yards on 6 carries and a forced fumble for -0.30 fantasy points. This wasn’t exactly the statement he was looking for.

After rebounding with a decent Week 2, he hasn’t played since. Week 3, he was out with a thigh injury. Last week, however, it seems he was left off the field due to other reasons. Once he comes back, I’d imagine he is at least the #2 behind Forsett, if not the #3 after Taliaferro as well. Either way, Pierce can be dropped in standard 10-12 team leagues, and he should not be playing in any deep league as long as there is a big question mark next to his name.

Justin Forsett and Lorenzo Taliaferro

Once Pierce fumbled in Week 1, the ball was handed, quite literally, to Justin Forsett. He responded with 11 carries for 70 yards and a TD, also managing to catch 5 receptions on 6 targets adding up to 14.40 standard league points and 19.4 PPR points. The following two weeks, he didn’t see the ball as much, with some of his touches, and all of Pierce's touches, going to Lorenzo Taliaferro.

Last week was Forsett's best game to date,  resulting in a season high 14 carries for 66 yards and a score, along with 31 receiving yards on 3 catches against a solid Carolina D for 15.70 points. Forsett seems to be the featured back in Baltimore, as he has had at least 12 touches every week, is more durable than Pierce and has more experience than Taliaferro. He is the smart play on your team and needs to be owned in all leagues.

Lorenzo Taliaferro is just one of those guys you don’t know what you are going to get if you play him. He didn’t play the first two weeks behind Pierce and Forsett. Then when Pierce was out, he unloaded with 18 rushes (a season high for anybody on Baltimore) for 91 yards and a TD. He received accolated from coach Harbaugh. Last week he did go for 58 yards on 15 carries and a TD, but it is misleading. After Baltimore took a big lead over Carolina, Taliaferro took over for Forsett to eat the clock out, leading to the majority of his touches.

That said, Taliaferro does have fantasy value. He was featured in my “Most Added” column from last week. He is the power back #2 behind Forsett, and can be a FLEX play for the time being in the right matchups. Taliaferro’s production, as with all three guys, depends on exactly how many touches Pierce gets when he gets on the field again.

It will certainly be an interesting rest of the season for John Harbaugh. Having too much talent is never a bad thing. Even with Rice gone for good, there is still plenty of depth with Baltimore’s backfield. Not to mention the resurgence of Steve Smith Sr. at Wide Receiver to go along with Torrey Smith. Catching balls from a seemingly much improved Joe Flacco isn’t a bad thing either, as he is off to a great start as well. If you avoided the Baltimore running back situation entirely through four weeks, you should consider yourself lucky. But for the rest of us, we may have stumbled upon some talent from the waiver wire that may help us throughout the remainder of the season.