Strength in Numbers: Actionable Week 1 Stats

We’re going to get a lot of stuff wrong, but sifting through usage metrics can help us work through what matters and what doesn’t. That’s the goal of this article: to break down the most actionable takeaways from each week in a concise, numbers-filled format and work through what’s important. Let’s get right to it.

1. While Mark Andrews still out-routed Isaiah Likely 38-35, Likely was far more effective with nine catches for 111 yards and a TD (and nearly another TD on what would have been the game-winning score). Andrews managed just two ineffective targets. To be fair, Andrews was in a car crash on Aug. 14 and got in just one week of practice beginning Aug. 30 before Week 1, so it’s possible he’s not fully healthy. Regardless, Likely’s performance raises the issue of which Ravens TE is preferable rest-of-season, and it’s a legit question. Likely’s performance also all but guarantees Baltimore will use 2-TE sets as their base alignment all year — I can’t imagine taking Andrews/Likely off the field to incorporate more Nelson Agholor (16 routes on 51 dropbacks). Expect Likely and Andrews to continue sharing the field plenty, something they rarely did in 2023, and Zay Flowers (48 routes) and Rashod Bateman (45) to remain every-snap players on the outside. Both Baltimore TEs are fantasy starters in Week 2.
2. Derrick Henry out-carried Justice Hill 13-1, but Hill out-snapped Henry 54% to 46%. This isn’t super surprising, as Henry’s pass-game deficiencies are well-documented and Baltimore was trailing much of the game. The Ravens also referred to Hill as a starting running back during the offseason, basically promising he remains in the same role he was in last season. It’s jarring to see Hill finish with more fantasy points than Henry in Week 1, but I don’t think we really learned much, and Baltimore is favored in 14 of their 16 remaining games. Henry remains a script-dependent fantasy starter with multi-TD upside every week.