The Ravens placed Danny Woodhead (hamstring) on injured reserve today. That means he’ll miss at least the next eight weeks. And I think there might be a little value there that can be exploited. Maybe.
Woodhead was going to catch a ton of passes – wouldn’t have surprised me if he caught 80 passes. Joe Flacco likes dumping it off to a safety value; he showed that last year with Dennis Pitta.
So somebody needs to move into that Pitta-Woodhead role.
I don’t think they have a tight end who’ll catch 50-plus passes. Nick Boyle and Benjamin Watson seem to be their main players at that position, but they’re more blockers than receivers. Maxx Williams maybe, but he’s failed to develop.
Flacco says he thinks slot receiver Michael Campanaro could pick up some of the Woodhead-type role. Put him down as a maybe. (In a typical fantasy league, I don’t think Campanaro is roster-worthy yet.)
I have some interest in two of their reserve running backs. Terrance West is the starter, but Javorius Allen looks like he might be just as good – faster and quicker, and a lot better in the passing game. Because of injuries, Allen got to play plenty late in his rookie year (in 2015) and caught 37 passes in the final seven games, including a 12-catch game at Miami. Allen definitely could move into some of that Woodhead role. Makes some sense in a PPR format, I think because you’re not only maybe getting a third-down back, but you might also be picking up a handcuff.
Allen played plenty in the opener at Cincinnati but wasn’t particularly effective – 21 carries for 71 yards, with only one pass thrown his way (an incompletion). West wasn’t on the field quite as much but was more effective, running for 80 yards on 19 attempts.
The other back here is Jeremy Langford. A year ago at this time, Langford was heading into his second year, expected to be maybe a top-10 back with the Bears. As a rookie, he played well enough that Chicago felt Matt Forte was expendable, with good speed and elusiveness. Langford started off last season slowly, and when he injured an ankle early in the season, Jordan Howard moved in and took the job for good.
But Langford has some starting experience, and in a talent-thin backfield, he has some potential to claw his way to the top of the depth chart. I don’t think the Bears were eager to release him, but with the other backs they have – Howard, Tarik Cohen, Benny Cunningham – there just wasn’t room for him. A year ago last August, the Bears were content enough with Langford that they believed he’d be starting ahead of Howard.
When the Bears released Langford, Baltimore quickly signed him to their practice squad. Now that Woodhead is on IR, he’s been added to the 53-man roster.
I don’t think Langford catches the ball as well as Allen. In the last two years, Langford has caught only 59 percent of the passes thrown his way, last among the 42 running backs with at least 60 targets. He’s caught 41 of 69 passes. Allen has been a notch better – 48 of 67 passes.
But Langford has some playing experience. In the 2015-16 seasons, he got to carry the ball 10-plus times in 12 games. He averaged 50 rushing and 25 receiving yards in those 12 games, with 7 TDs.
| JEREMY LANGFORD WITH CHICAGO | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Opp | Att | Run | Avg | No | Rec | Avg | TD |
| 2015 | Minn. | 12 | 46 | 3.8 | 0 | 0 | -- | 0 |
| 2015 | at S.D. | 18 | 72 | 4.0 | 3 | 70 | 23.3 | 1 |
| 2015 | at St.L. | 20 | 73 | 3.7 | 7 | 109 | 15.6 | 2 |
| 2015 | Den. | 13 | 25 | 1.9 | 3 | 17 | 5.7 | 1 |
| 2015 | at G.B. | 12 | 48 | 4.0 | 1 | 5 | 5.0 | 1 |
| 2015 | S.F. | 12 | 59 | 4.9 | 2 | 9 | 4.5 | 0 |
| 2015 | Wash. | 11 | 37 | 3.4 | 3 | 27 | 9.0 | 0 |
| 2015 | at Min. | 11 | 46 | 4.2 | 1 | 11 | 11.0 | 0 |
| 2015 | at T.B. | 19 | 83 | 4.4 | 0 | 0 | -- | 0 |
| 2016 | at Hou. | 17 | 57 | 3.4 | 2 | 6 | 3.0 | 1 |
| 2016 | Phil. | 11 | 28 | 2.5 | 1 | 6 | 6.0 | 1 |
| 2016 | at Min. | 10 | 26 | 2.6 | 3 | 41 | 13.7 | 0 |
—Ian Allan