J.K. Dobbins Injury Updates & Fantasy Outlook 2022

J.K. Dobbins showed some serious potential in his 2020 rookie season with the Baltimore Ravens, racking up 925 yards from scrimmage and 9 touchdowns. That made his preseason knee injury all the more devastating, as it cost him his entire 2021 sophomore campaign.

Now coming up on a full year removed from the injury and heading into his third NFL season, fans and fantasy football managers alike have their attention turned to what the future will hold for Dobbins, and when he will be healthy.

J.K. Dobbins Injury Update

The Ravens haven't provided any concrete updates on Dobbins' injury recovery, but there are some bits and pieces of relevant news that we can keep in mind.

J.K. Dobbins Knee Injury Update

Dobbins was held out of minicamp, and head coach John Harbaugh has said the team will "play it safe", and that Dobbins could start training camp on the PUP list. NFL insider Jeff Zrebiec has also said that he expects the Ravens to "manage" Dobbins' early-season workload when he returns.

So at this point, it's still very much a guessing game as to when Dobbins will return. But considering the way running backs have been recovering from ACL injuries in recent years, it still seems like a safe bet that Dobbins should be ready in some capacity by Week 1.

J.K. Dobbins Fantasy Outlook

This injury uncertainty paints a cloudy picture around Dobbins' fantasy football outlook for 2022.

On one hand, he's a young back who is capable of handling the RB1 role in an explosive offense. On the other, we don't know how good he will look as he shakes off the rust of a missed season, and he'll also still be dealing with plenty of competition for touches in the backfield.

Gus Edwards also tore his ACL before the 2021 campaign, but he has recorded at least 135 touches in all three of his season in Baltimore, including 153 (to Dobbins' 152) in 2020. The Ravens also brought in free agent Mike Davis and spent a sixth-round pick on Tyler Badie.

Davis and Badie aren't exactly slam-dunk picks to get serious volume though, indicating that Dobbins is probably still in the plans as the team's RB1 this year. And considering the absolute refusal to add to the passing game, it's clear that Baltimore plans to run the ball enough to support multiple fantasy-relevant backs.

Dobbins is being drafted as the RB21 according to early offseason average draft position (ADP) data, making him a relatively low-risk pick who has the upside to be a top-12 back whenever he can get back up to a full workload.

Jason Schandl is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Jason Schandl also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username Jaymun. 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 his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.