MLB Best Bets – Free (Wednesday 5/15)
Josh Gross
(FTN Fantasy is reacting to all the big fantasy news of the offseason! Follow along in our transaction tracker.)
Fresh off a career-best 810 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns in 2023, former Baltimore Ravens running back Gus Edwards agreed Monday to sign with the Los Angeles Chargers on a two-year deal. Edwards goes from John Harbaugh to Jim Harbaugh with the move and will reunite with former Ravens offensive coordinator Greg Roman.
Edwards was the RB25 in PPR in 2023. He managed that despite only 12 receptions (he only has 30 for his career) by virtue of tying for fifth in the league in rushing scores with 13. Seven of Edwards’ 13 touchdowns in 2023 were on one-yard rushes.
In Los Angeles, he will replace outgoing starter Austin Ekeler, though Edwards is a very different running back to the man he replaces. Ekeler has been one of the best receiving backs in the league over his career, while Edwards’ 12 receptions, 13 targets and 180 rushing yards in 2023 were all career highs. With a new coaching staff in place and a new offensive philosophy in Los Angeles, the team appears to be pivoting away from the receiving-heavy approach to the backfield it employed with Ekeler. That said, the team is going to need a running back who can catch passes, whether it’s incumbent No. 2 Joshua Kelley, another free agent or a draft pick (John Harbaugh’s former Wolverine friend Blake Corum, perhaps?).
Edwards spent the first six years of his career in Baltimore after going undrafted in 2018. With J.K. Dobbins also hitting free agency, the Ravens enter 2024 with only Keaton Mitchell, Justice Hill and Owen Wright at running back. Mitchell is recovering from a late-season torn ACL, and Owen Wright didn’t play a snap in 2023. In other words, the team is going to be doing some work at the running back position this offseason.
