The Dolphins-Ravens Matchup from a Fantasy Perspective

In this story:
The Miami Dolphins will look to improve to 2-0 on the season when they face the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium on Sunday, and one of the many ways to examine the matchup is through the fantasy football perspective.
With that in mind, let's look at Sports Illustrated Fantasy Editor Michael Fabiano's Week 2 Start 'Em and Sit 'Em as they pertain to the Dolphins-Ravens battle.
We'll list the players mentioned in the matchup with Fabiano's comments and offer our take on that particular projection.
Start 'Em
RB Chase Edmonds: "Edmonds didn't have a huge stat line last week, but he saw a 34.8% touch share in his first game with Miami. He saw 16 touches compared to six for Raheem Mostert, making him a viable flex option. This week he faces the Ravens, who surrendered 13 combined catches to Michael Carter and Breece Hall in their season opener against the New York Jets."
Our take: Edmonds' performance against New England was much better than the numbers would have suggested, and we definitely could see him having a productive statistical outing here.
Sit of the Week
QB Tua Tagovailoa: "Tagovailoa looked good in his 2022 debut, posting 270 yards, one touchdown and a 104.4 passer rating in a win over the Patriots. However, he still failed to score 15 or more points for the eighth time in his last 14 games dating back to last season. He’ll remain no more than a superflex in this week’s game in Baltimore against an improved Ravens defense."
Our take: This is an indication that many national observers still need to see more from Tua to become true believers. But we'll say right here that with a big performance against the Ravens, he'll never be in this fantasy slot again.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Sit 'Em
Ravens WR Rashod Bateman: "Bateman had a nice stat line last week against the Jets, posting a touchdown and 13.9 fantasy points. He does have a much tougher matchup this week, as the Dolphins have allowed the fewest points to wide receivers since Week 12, 2021. What's more, the position has 53 catches and found the end zone just once during that seven-game stretch."
Our take: Bateman becomes even less of a good play for fantasy owners if the Dolphins decide at some time to stick Xavien Howard on him like they did at times with DeVante Parker last Sunday.
TE Mike Gesicki: "Gesicki is not only a sit ‘em, but he’s a candidate to be released in a lot of fantasy leagues. Per PFF, the Dolphins ran 25 snaps from 21 or 22 personnel and Gesicki was never on the field in those sets. He played just 19 pass snaps overall, and Tua Tagovailoa looked in his direction just twice. So while the Ravens are bad against tight ends, I simply can’t start Gesicki."
Our take: It's understandable for fantasy owners to be jittery about using Gesicki, but we would suggest there will be games when he'll be a big part of the game plan, and who's to say it doesn't come this week against the Ravens.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
More sits
-- Dolphins K Jason Sanders
-------------------------------------------------------------------
SI.COM WEEK 2 FANTASY RANKINGS
Ravens QB Lamar Jackson — 5th
QB Tua Tagovailoa — 21st
RB Chase Edmonds — 60th
Ravens RB Kenyan Drake — 43rd
RB Raheem Mostert — 51st
Ravens RB. Justice Hill — 60th
WR Tyreek Hill — 6th
WR Jaylen Waddle — 20th
Ravens WR Rashod Bateman — 26th
Ravens TE Mark Andrews — 2nd
TE Mike Gesicki — 24th
Ravens K Justin Tucker — 2nd
K Jason Sanders — 22nd
Baltimore defense — 11th
Dolphins defense — 18th
REVISITING THE WEEK 1 RECOMMENDATIONS
Start 'Em — RB Chase Edmonds: 25 yards rushing, 4 catches for 40 yards ... not a terribly productive outing.
Sit of the week — TE Mike Gesicki: 1 catch for 1 yard ... good call on that one.
Sit 'em — QB Tua Tagovailoa: 270 passing yards, 1 touchdown, 0 interception, 0 rushing yards ... t was an OK, not great, outing from a fantasy perspective.
More starts — Patriots RB Damien Harris: 48 rushing yards, 2 catches for 10 yards ... nope, didn't do much.
More starts — Patriots TE Hunter Henry: 2 catches for 20 yards ... whiffed on that one.
More sits — Patriots QB Mac Jones: 213 passing yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception, 0 rushing yards ... not very impressive fantasy numbers.
More sits — Patriots WR DeVante Parker: 1 catch, 9 yards ... nailed that one.
More sits — Dolphins K Jason Sanders: 2 field goals (43, 49), 2 extra points ... That's a pretty solid day for a kicker.

Alain Poupart is the publisher/editor of Miami Dolphins On SI and host of the All Dolphins Podcast. Alain has covered the Miami Dolphins on a full-time basis since 1989 for various publications and media outlets, including Dolphin Digest, The Associated Press and the Dolphins team website. In addition to being a credentialed member of the Miami Dolphins press corps, Alain has covered three Super Bowls (for NFL.com, Football News and the Montreal Gazette), the annual NFL draft, the Senior Bowl, and the NFL Scouting Combine. During his almost 40 years in journalism, which began at the now-defunct Miami News, Alain has covered practically every sport at one time or another, from tennis to golf, baseball, basketball and everything in between. The career also included time as a copy editor, including work on several books, such as "Still Perfect," an inside look at the Miami Dolphins' 1972 perfect season. A native of Montreal, Canada, whose first language is French, Alain grew up a huge hockey fan but soon developed a love for all sports, including NFL football. He has lived in South Florida since the 1980s.
Follow @PoupartNFL