How to Treat Ravens WR Devin Duvernay as Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Target
Mitchell Leff/Getty Images. Pictured: Devin Duvernay.
Entering the season, fantasy managers were looking to buy into two Ravens pass catchers.
Devin Duvernay was not one of them.
Rashod Bateman looked poised for a potential breakout second season, and he hauled in a 55-yard touchdown against the Jets in Week 1. It’s no surprise that Mark Andrews was the most-targeted Ravens pass catcher, with five catches on seven targets for 52 yards.
Then there’s Duvernay, who caught four balls for 54 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He was only targeted four times but made the most of them.
With J.K. Dobbins out, the Ravens leaned a bit more heavily on the passing game. Lamar Jackson attempted 30 passes, while Baltimore running backs had just 15 carries.
So, Bateman and Andrews stock was bought before the season. Should you get in on Duvernay?
Here’s what two of our fantasy football experts say about the Ravens wide receiver.
Sean Koerner: Let someone else in your league bid on him.
While it’s encouraging to see Duvernary operate as the Ravens’ No. 2 wide receiver, the two-touchdown game was pretty fluky considering he scored two TDs on 53 receptions in his first two seasons. He will likely be the No. 3 or 4 target most weeks on a run-heavy team and he opens the week as my WR75.
I’ll pass.
Samantha Previte: Duvernay was a popular rookie sleeper two years ago who ultimately did not live up to the hype. He was mainly utilized as a return specialist in 2021 and earned Pro Bowl honors as a result.
Duvernay dominated in his Year 3 debut on a relatively small target share (13.8%). He reeled in all four of his targets for 54 yards and two touchdowns and finished as the WR9. He trailed Mark Andrews and Rashod Bateman in targets and tied with Demarcus Robinson in the effort. Duvernay could easily solidify his role as the WR2 in Baltimore's offense and No. 3 option behind Andrews and Bateman, which makes a strong case to add him as a bench stash.
He won't get to face the Jets every week, however. Until we see more consistent looks from quarterback Lamar Jackson, he is more of a boom-or-bust, deeper league flex play.
Chris Raybon: Leave him on the wire.
Duvernay only ran a route on 53% of Lamar Jackson’s dropbacks, consistent with his 55% rate last season. On 592 career routes, he is averaging just 0.89 yards per route run with four TDs, so Week 1 is highly likely to prove an outlier.
While Duvernay may earn a few more snaps with his breakout performance in Week 1, this is a low-volume passing offense that runs through Mark Andrews and then Rashod Bateman.
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