Rashod

Bateman

The week off evidently served Bateman well. The field-stretching WR is now on track to face a banged-up Giants defense in Week 15. While Bateman is unlikely to command significant target volume, he will have opportunities to deliver explosive gains.

The Ravens will head into their Week 14 bye, so it is possible that Bateman misses no additional time at all if this optimistic report from their head coach is correct. Bateman being an unreliable target in a Ravens passing game that seems to have a new focal point every week means you could probably sneak him through the waiver wire in most shallow leagues if you need the roster spot this week.

Bateman was ruled out just before the end of the third quarter. His day ends without a counting stat of note. Diontae Johnson, who is also without a stat so far, should see an uptick in snaps with Bateman out, though Nelson Agholor is playing the WR2 role for Baltimore to open the fourth quarter.

Bateman is never likely to see significant volume as the third or fourth option through the air for the Ravens, but he continues to display increased chemistry with quarterback Lamar Jackson in what is shaping up to be a career year. Bateman’s next chance to return fantasy utility comes in Week 13 against the 9-2 Eagles.

Bateman was added to the injury report as a ‘DNP’ Friday but was listed as a full participant in the team’s Saturday walkthrough, ultimately removing any game status against the Chargers. Expect the veteran field stretcher to be on the field on Monday night.

This is a new and worrying injury for the Ravens’ field-stretcher, who will likely be needed for his team’s Monday Night Football game against the Chargers. Bateman has intermittently layered unusable weeks with WR1 and WR2 finishes this season, and this game profiles as one in which Bateman could be frequently called upon. The game’s over/under is currently set at a fantasy-friendly 51.0 points.

It was a bad offensive day for the Ravens as a whole, and Bateman was no exception to this. The fourth-year receiver caught a 19-yard pass in the second quarter that helped set up a Derrick Henry touchdown run but didn’t offer much contribution outside of that. Fortunately, the five targets were a good sign that his usage hasn’t taken a dip despite Diontae Johnson now three games into his tenure as a Ravens. Bateman should continue to run as Baltimore’s WR2 in Week 12 against the Chargers, but won’t have much more than WR4 value.

The six catches were a new season high, while the eight targets matched his 2024 high. Those totals came as Diontae Johnson played his second game in a Ravens uniform. Curious, though Bateman has been consistently catching 3-4 passes all season. We’ll see if he can really keep that up as Johnson gets more acclimated, though Bateman isn’t really competing for the same looks. He also isn’t really pushing for weekly WR4 value, but his floor is higher than zero while ceiling is always possible in this attack.

Bateman’s four targets were surprisingly good for a 21 percent target share, though he failed to turn that into a usable fantasy outing despite Lamar Jackson throwing for 280 yards and three scores. Bateman’s quiet day can’t be blamed on Diontae Johnson, who was acquired in a trade with the Panthers earlier this week. Johnson did not draw a target in his Baltimore debut. However, his role will grow in Week 10, taking routes and targets off the table for Bateman. Fantasy managers should treat Bateman as a high-risk WR5 for Week 10 versus the Bengals.

Sure didn’t seem like a huge cost for the Ravens, though it does shake up their receiver room and make it hard to trust for fantasy purposes. Zay Flowers is hurt the most by the acquisition, as he was (by target volume) the uncontested No. 1 wideout. He likely slides down to the WR3/FLEX borderline due to the uncertainty. Rashod Bateman becomes a touchdown-or-bust proposition. For Carolina, Xavier Legette pushes into the FLEX conversation on target volume despite being on a bad passing offense. Jalen Coker also is rosterable in deeper leagues. It’s worth holding onto Diontae Johnson for the moment, but he may be droppable in most leagues if he’s not a big part of the Ravens offense after a week or two.