Justin Forsett's Fantasy Football Forecast After Ravens RB's Week 1 Breakout

The Baltimore Ravens' backfield situation is a prime example of how difficult it is to make long-term projections for fantasy football. Justin Forsett was an afterthought just one week ago. Now he's a potentially major asset heading into a Week 2 clash with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Forsett led the team with 70 yards on 11 carries in the opener. He also scored a touchdown on the ground and made five catches out of the backfield. Bernard Pierce finished the game with just six carries for 17 yards and wasn't a factor in the passing game.

Jamison Hensley of ESPN passed along comments from Ravens head coach John Harbaugh about the situation following the release of Ray Rice this week. He didn't tip his hand, stating that all three backs would be able to get involved, including Lorenzo Taliaferro.

"You don't lose faith in a player because of a bad play," he said. "Bernard is still on his way to becoming, I would say, a very good player, and I've been saying that all along. I have the utmost confidence in him. He's going to fight and battle. He's not going to be perfect—none of us are—but Bernard Pierce is a big part of what we're doing, just as are Justin [and] Lorenzo [Taliaferro] as well."

Pierce lost a fumble for one of the team's two turnovers in a one-score loss to the division rival Cincinnati Bengals. That, along with the fact that he was averaging less than three yards per carry, allowed Forsett to become more heavily involved.

The question now is how the touches will be distributed moving forward. Though Harbaugh wasn't ready to make any declarations, Forsett is in a good position based on his experience and versatility.

Interestingly, the longtime backup has averaged nearly five yards per carry for his career but has never gotten the opportunity to carry the load for an extended period of time. Given the high rate of change at the position, it's a surprise no team gave him a longer look during one of his stops.

A lot of it has to do with his stature. At 5'8" and a shade under 200 pounds, he doesn't possess the prototypical size for an NFL back. Yet, in today's game, where the emphasis on running between the tackles isn't as strong, his playmaking ability can make him valuable.

The other thing working in his favor is that his skill set is different from Pierce and Taliaferro, who are both bigger, bruising backs.

What that could very well mean is those two end up battling for the same role, while Forsett is able to get his fair share of carries while also getting a vast majority of the passing-down work.

Matthew Berry of ESPN likes Forsett in the short term, but he admits things could remain murky throughout the season:

There are two slightly different outlooks from a fantasy perspective.

In standard leagues, he's a matchup play at flex until the situation becomes more clear. The crowded backfield means there's risk involved. But Forsett should be a strong bet to score well against a Steelers defense that ranked 21st against the run last season and gave up 183 rushing yards in Week 1.

In PPR leagues, he deserves even stronger consideration. As mentioned, he figures to get heavily involved in passing situations and should be the target of checkdowns. That's important, even if the Ravens won't be throwing 62 times per game, as was the case in the opener.

It's unlikely Forsett will get a heavy enough workload to warrant must-start status since there are two other backs fighting for playing time. But he's definitely somebody worth adding if he remains available in your league ahead of Thursday night's game.

If he does earn a clear edge over Pierce and Taliaferro against the Steelers, his value will rise even further ahead of Week 3.