Should I Start J.K. Dobbins in Fantasy Football Week 3?

It's been a long time since fans have seen running back J.K. Dobbins breaking tackles and scoring touchdowns on the football field. Well, 617 days to be exact. The 23-year-old will make his season debut with the Baltimore Ravens in Week 3, but does that make him a starter in fantasy football?

J.K. Dobbins Injury Update

Dobbins tore his ACL, LCL, hamstring and meniscus over a year ago and it caused him to miss the entire 2021 season. It gave the Raven's little depth in the backfield, especially with the injury suffered by fellow RB Gus Edwards. That has stayed true in 2022 as well given Baltimore's rushing struggles.

A second straight week of full participation in practice combined with a cautious approach by the coaching staff means that Dobbins may not be too limited in his debut. This is a player that posted 925 yards from scrimmage and 9 touchdowns on 152 touches as a rookie in 2020 (15 games).

J.K. Dobbins Fantasy Outlook

From a fantasy perspective, facing the Patriots is going to be no easy task for Dobbins. New England is giving up the ninth-fewest PPR fantasy points to opposing RBs and has yet to allow a ball-carrier to get into the end zone. Dobbins only posted 13 yards on 5 carries in a 2020 head-to-head matchup.

Dobbins' fantasy ceiling this week comes down to his workload. If he splits carries with veteran backs Kenyan Drake and Mike Davis, it will be hard for him to post double-digit points. Meanwhile, he has a shot to finish as a low-end RB2 if head coach John Harbaugh lets him run loose with 15-plus touches.

Should I Start J.K. Dobbins in Fantasy Football Week 3?

With average draft position of RB22 this fall, Dobbins was being selected in the fourth round of 12-team leagues. That means fantasy managers invested important draft capital to have him on their roster. Keeping his upside on the bench is the wrong move, so he is a perfect FLEX option on Sunday.

Dobbins checks in at RB36 in The Duel's Week 3 PPR fantasy football rankings.

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Larry Rupp is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Larry Rupp also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username phillyfan424. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.