During the Baltimore Ravens–Washington Football Team preseason game, starting running back J.K. Dobbins was escorted off the field after taking an awkward hit to his leg. He was putting almost zero pressure on the leg when coming off the field, which is a major cause for concern.
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As the entrenched RB1, anytime missed would be detrimental to the Ravens' run-heavy offense. However, Baltimore has one of the best backup running backs in the league in Gus Edwards, who will be more than capable of taking over starting duties. Since the start of 2018, Edwards ranks fifth in PFF rushing grade (90.2) and yards per attempt (5.1).
And last season, Edwards was just as good if not better than Dobbins in most rushing categories.
Baltimore Backfield | Week 11 through playoffs 2020
| Player | PFF grade | Yards per carry | Yards after contact per attempt | Missed tackles forced per attempt |
| J.K Dobbins | 76.3 | 6.0 | 3.3 | 0.15 |
| Gus Edwards | 90.1 | 5.4 | 3.6 | 0.20 |
Aside from yards per attempt (the least predictive running back stat), Edwards was better across the board on nearly the same amount of rushes (80 versus 96).
The Gus Bus was already projected to handle north of 10 touches per game based on his workload toward the end of last season (seven-plus carries in every game after Week 13). But an expanded role (15-plus touches per week) with Dobbins sidelined will make him a mid-range fantasy RB2 (top-20). But don’t expect him to be a true game-changer in PPR formats as Baltimore hardly throws to their running backs with Lamar Jackson under center.
All aboard the Gus Bus, whose ADP will surely rise in the coming days leading up to fantasy drafts.
And be sure to take a late-round flier on Ty'Son Williams. He’s the team No. 3 and could easily inherit the No.2 role that saw Edwards earn seven-10 touches per game.
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