The Baltimore Ravens picked up a win in Week 1 over the Houston Texans but it wasn’t much to celebrate. RB J.K. Dobbins went down with an Achilles injury that will required season-ending surgery. With Dobbins out, the Ravens turned to a back consisting of Gus Edwards and Justice Hill. That duo will be tasked with leading the running game alongside QB Lamar Jackson. We take a look at which RB is the better add off your waiver wire and which you should look to play in Week 2.
Update — RB Melvin Gordon was activated to the roster for Week 2 vs. the Bengals.
Fantasy football waiver wire, Week 2
Should you play Hill or Edwards?
Case for Hill
He scored twice. Purely being the goal line back is a great reason to pickup Hill. The downside is he had eight carries for nine yards and had zero targets. With Dobbins out last season, the Ravens turned mostly to Kenyan Drake and Edwards with Hill mixing in. In 15 games, Hill managed 49 carries for 262 yards and no scores. It’s interesting the Ravens went with Hill in the red zone. We could just see Jackson get more designed runs to make up for the loss of Dobbins.
Case for Edwards
He’s the better back. Edwards has a decent track record since joining the NFL in 2018. He started his career with three straight seasons of 700+ yards with a YPC average above 5.0. Edwards is also the bigger back, so you’d think he makes more sense in goal-line situations. That could change in Week 2. One issue is Hill likely ends up being the third-down and passing-down back over Edwards. But if anyone can be an every-down back between the two, it feels like it’s Edwards.
Verdict
Go with Edwards over Hill. Edwards got eight carries (the same as Hill) in the win but turned it into 32 yards. It’s not much, plus you’d think Jackson just leads the running game the rest of the season. But Baltimore can’t afford to lose Jackson on top of Dobbins. So leaning on a RB makes sense. We could also see someone else added to the mix. That’ll be veteran Melvin Gordon off the practice squad. Still, expect Edwards to get the first crack at starting. Be ready to grab Gordon if he sees the field in some capacity. If you’re a Dobbins manager and you can snag both Hill and Edwards, try that.