Instant fantasy football takeaways from Bengals-Ravens Thursday Night Football

• The Baltimore Ravens can’t stop Ja’Marr Chase: Chase has 20 receptions for 457 yards and four touchdowns against the Ravens in two games this season.

• Recently traded players have a minimal impact: The Cincinnati Bengals recently traded to running back Khalil Herbertwhile the Ravens switched to wide receiver Diontae Johnsonbut neither has played much in the offense yet.

• Unlock your edge with a PFF+ subscription: Get full access to all of our in-season fantasy tools, including weekly rankings, WR/CB matchup charts, weekly projectionsthe Start-Sit Optimizer and more. Sign up now!

Expected reading time: 5 minutes

Focusing on player usage and stats, PFF’s fantasy football recap breaks down all the vital information you need to achieve fantasy success in 2024.

Cincinnati Bengals @ Baltimore Ravens

Keaton Mitchell returns: The Ravens’ second-year running back was activated from injured reserve before the game.

Mitchell, an undrafted rookie last season, had the second-highest rushing grade among running backs in 2023, albeit on a limited 47 carries. He led the league with 8.4 yards per carry. carry, with an impressive 40.4% of his runs resulting in first downs. His 0.32 avoided tackles per carry was second among running backs.

Unfortunately, his season was cut short by an ACL tear. After starting this season on injured reserve, Mitchell recently returned to practice. In his first game back, he played mostly on special teams and only recorded two offensive snaps near the end of the first quarter.

While Mitchell’s return could affect playing time a bit Derrick Henry and Justice Hill when everyone is healthy, the ravens can turn to him more if they protect a wire. Mitchell also remains a valuable handcuff option because of the talent he showed last year and Baltimore’s commitment to the run.

Diontae Johnson‘s role is not expanded: Johnson saw limited involvement, with just a few snaps spread across the game — fewer than he played last week.

Johnson was traded to the Ravens from the Panthers nine days ago and played a limited role in his first game (Week 9), playing 17 of a possible 51 offensive snaps. Most of his playing time came in the second half, as he only recorded three snaps in the first half, with the rest coming after the Ravens had a two-score lead.

Many expected Johnson to get at least as much playing time this week, given extra time to learn the playbook and Isaiah Probably‘s damage. While he played a higher percentage of snaps in 11 teams, he did not play in any one- or two-wide-receiver sets, with all of his snaps coming instead of Nelson Agholor.

Ideally, Johnson will soon take over most of Agholor’s snaps with 11 personnel and earn additional snaps in two-wide receiver sets. The Ravens face a tough schedule in the coming weeks, followed by a bye, before a more favorable stretch during the fantasy playoffs. While Johnson isn’t a starting option in the near future, he could be a valuable lottery ticket at wide receiver for a potential breakout closer to the playoffs.

Raven adjusts without Isaiah Probably: The Ravens’ rotating tight end was inactive with a hamstring injury.

The Ravens have followed a predictable tight end rotation through the first nine weeks. In 11 employees, Mark Andrews typically plays 65% of snaps, med Isaiah Probably handle the remaining 35%.

The two divide the field into 12 crews; in 21 employees, Charlie Kolar sees 54% of snaps, Andrews 30% and Likely 17%. For 22 personnel packages, Likely and Kolar have taken the most snaps.

With Likely out, the Ravens did not activate a practice squad tight end. Instead, Andrews took all 11-man snaps while Kolar stepped in for Likely 12-man, increasing playing time for both. The Ravens’ usage of the 22 man is also down significantly, down from an average of 14 plays per scrimmage. games (Weeks 3-7) for minimal use since Week 8. In the few 22 person snaps Andrews Likely replaced.

Andrews finished the game with six catches for 68 yards and a touchdown, leading the Ravens in receiving yards so far Tylan Wallace‘s 84-yard touchdown. If Likely remains on the sidelines, Andrews becomes an even more reliable fantasy option than he was in the first nine weeks.

Khalil Herbert makes brief debut for Cincinnati: Herbert was the only running back traded at the trade deadline Tuesday and arrived from Chicago Bears.

Bengals RB Zack Moss landed on injured reserve earlier this week and is likely out for the season, prompting the Bengals to trade for a running back from Chicago. Despite only having 60 hours with the team, he was made active for the game.

Herbert played primarily on special teams, but made his offensive debut early in the third drive. However, he mishandled a pass, resulting in a fumble that was credited Joe Burrow, but in the end that was it Herbert’s mistake. After that, he didn’t see offensive snaps again until late in the third quarter.

With more training time, Herbert could potentially become the team’s third back and cut in Chase Brown‘s playing time. Herbert has shown similar efficiency to Brown on a per-play basis as a running back, suggesting he could eventually have a more significant role. For now, the Bengals trust Drew sample and Tanner Hudson in the backfield on clear passes. Sample has occasionally filled this role throughout the year and could continue to do so going forward.

Jermaine Burton starting for the bengals: Cincinnati was down two wide receivers for another week, with T-shirt Higgins and Charlie Jones inactive due to damage.

Higgins missed time early in the season, with Trenton Irwin filling in as his primary replacement. When Higgins was sidelined again in Week 8, Burton stepped up and played 24 of 55 offensive snaps. Although reports suggested Burton would have a bigger role last week, he missed Saturday’s walk-through and was ultimately inactive.

This week, Burton was active, starting the game as the third wide receiver, similar to his role in Week 8, and occasionally rotating with Irwin, especially on rush plays. While Burton likely won’t be fantasy relevant in redraft leagues this season, he has the potential to make a big game or two – especially with Higgins still on the sidelines.

Bengals adjust without Eric Alle: The Bengals tight end landed on injured reserve after tearing his ACL.

Eric Alle played 21% of 11-man snaps and 76% of 12-man snaps throughout the season. This week, however, all three Bengals tight ends saw increased usage due to various contributing factors. Tanner Hudson stepped in as the primary 12-man reliever, played multiple snaps, while Mike Gesicki also saw additional snaps in that formation. In 11 staff, Gesicki and Drew sample split snaps.

Damage to Zack Moss and T-shirt Higgins further increased the involvement of the tight ends. The Bengals frequently deployed 03 personnel in third-and-long situations (3rd-and-7-plus), and used that package more in this game than any other team has all season. In those sets, Gesicki often lined up in the slot—where a third wide receiver would normally be—and some combination of Hudson, Sample, or both took snaps in the backfield, filling in for Moss.

As the running back and wide receiver rotations stabilize, Hudson’s snap numbers should remain high, with small increases expected for Gesicki and Sample compared to earlier in the season.

Various notes

The Ravens’ fifth-round rookie running back Rasheen Ali was inactive for the fourth consecutive game due to an ankle injury. He can be a healthy inactive when he’s ready now Keaton Mitchell is back.

The Bengals signed undrafted rookie Kendall Milton to the active roster a week ago to be the team’s third running back. With Herbert on the roster, Minton was a healthy inactive. He will likely be released and then re-enrolled on the practice squad.

Bengals sixth round rookie Tanner McLachlan had been a healthy inactive all season and was the fifth tight end on the depth chart. Instead of making him part of the gameday roster this week, they pulled the undrafted rookie Cam Grandy from the practice squad to serve as the fourth tight end in this game.

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Table notes

• Snaps include plays called back due to penalties, including offensive holding or defensive pass interference. The other three stats have these games removed.

• Goals may differ from official NFL sources. The most likely deviation would be from a clearly thrown-away pass, where the NFL may give the target to the closest receiver, while this data will not.

• Carrier is only on designed plays. Quarterback scrambles do not count toward the total number of carries in the game.