Getty Tennessee Titans RB Derrick Henry.
The Tennessee Titans are a very interesting team heading into 2019. They were very close to a playoff berth last season and should only get better with Mike Vrabel having another year under his belt. With Andrew Luck’s retirement, the Titans should have an even easier path to the playoffs. The biggest question mark the team has is quarterback Marcus Mariota. He looked like he was on the right path after his second season, but has looked more like a bust in the last two seasons. The one area the Titans should succeed is in the running game.
If Mariota continues to struggle, Derrick Henry and Dion Lewis will be relied on heavily. Henry was the lead back in 2018 and accumulated 1,059 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns. It was his first 1,000-yard season in his three years. There’s no reason to believe that he’ll be any less successful in 2019 and should be a good fantasy football option.
Derrick Henry Football Projections: Outlook & Preview
If you decide to draft Henry, he comes with some risks. He is almost a complete non-factor in the receiving game. He only had 99 receiving yards in 2018 and zero touchdowns. The top-five fantasy running backs from 2018 were all very good receiving threats. Todd Gurley, Ezekiel Elliott, Saquon Barkley, Christian McCaffery and Alvin Kamara all exceeded 500 receiving yards last season. While Henry is a solid contributor on the ground, he won’t be effective in the passing game, which seriously hurts his value.
Another concern is that a lot of Henry’s production came over a two week stretch from week 14 to week 15. In those two games, he accumulated 408 rushing yards and six touchdowns. If you take away those two games, he puts up 651 rushing yards and scores six touchdowns in 14 games. Those are pretty pedestrian numbers. Yes, he has the potential to give an insane game that can almost single-handily pull out a win for you, but it’s going to be a risk every week. Fantasy Pros has him as the 44th overall player and 21st running back in PPR leagues.
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When to Draft Derrick Henry in 2019 Fantasy Football
Henry isn’t worth drafting until the third-round at the highest and maybe even lower. He does have upside as he finished the season strong, but his lack of a receiving game is very concerning. He’s a low-end RB2. He will be a beneficiary if Maritoa struggles like he has over the last two season, which does give him some interesting value. He does share a backfield with the talented Dion Lewis and that will eat away at his production.
The Action Network projects Henry to have 252 carries, 1,122 rushing yards and 9.6 rushing touchdowns. They also have him accumulating just 16 receptions, 136 receiving yards and 0.5 receiving touchdowns. An increase in rushing yards is expected, but a decrease in touchdowns.
Henry will have to have a big year on the ground to be an effective fantasy option. He does have upside as an RB2, but there are definitely better options. If Josh Jacobs or Melvin Gordon are still on the board, they’re more intriguing options, but it’d probably be a good idea to take Henry over Mark Ingram.
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