Darrell Henderson

[hoos89]

R-E-L-A-X.

The dude hasn't even got on the field yet. He's behind Gurley and Brown, who are both experienced and capable backs for a team that is in WIN NOW mode.

Once Gurleys AARPknee gives out, Hendy will start to get some touches. In other words, you just need to wait a couple more weeks.

A lot of people thought that his value was not dependent on Gurley's knee though. It's obviously too early to declare him a complete bust, but I do think the hype train on this guy got a bit out of hand and he probably shouldn't have creeped up to mid-first round ADP ahead of players like AJ Brown, DK Metcalf, TJ Hockenson, Deebo Samuel and Hollywood (all of whom already have 1 or 2 solid to outstanding performances under their belts). Maybe Gurley will go down and Hendy will go ham on the league, but I just think that's too speculative to have valued him over a bunch of guys who went higher in the NFL draft and had clearer paths to production than Henderson.


Exhibits A & B:

Yeah - a lot of people keep clinging to this false narrative that Henderson is only being valued highly due to the Gurley worry.

And one of my favorite signals was flagged for Henderson. They traded up to get him. And I think people forget he was drafted before David Montgomery. Draft capital matters. He has stand alone value just off his pedigree and draft capital. Add in the Gurley worries and that's when the hype started. Healthy Gurley or not, I believe Henderson will have a role in the offense. Brown I think is the guy that will see more variable usage depending on Gurley's health.

Exhibits C & D:

I think you're looking at it from the wrong angle. He isn't just a backup. He is going to be integrated into the offense with a purpose. That's why they drafted him.

Why would an organization waste a valuable 3rd round pick on a running back when they have one of the top 3 RBs in the league, whom they gave a very expensive contract to, and who is only 24 yo?

Exhibit E:

Son, the only fact that has proven to be one is that you have no clue what a truly bad trade is.

As for Henderson, he will surely get 12-15 touches. That's not a fact, since none of us can predict the future. But it is a very reasonable presumption, given all the "additional" facts at hand.

Lol

And just to give a sense of exactly how absurd the hype train got:

Here's my prediction for Henderson's 2019 stat line:

700 yrds rushing / 6 TDs / 600 yds receiving / 50 catches / 0 TDs

E: Fixed post authors on C&D.

[joeya2001]

Guess we need patients like all the RoJo believers too huh!!!

Sorry but I go off the ship early, I don't want to be left holding the bags.

[Dynasty DeLorean]

[Phaded]

My guess would be he is currently a liability in pass pro which is not abnormal for rookies.

[Vcize]

Good thing this a redraft forum otherwise all this hate would look pretty silly

True, but this isn't a TE we are talking about here. In the modern NFL most of the successful fantasy backs were on the field contributing pretty early.

Alvin Kamara is who this guy was compared to a lot, but Kamara had his Kamara role right out of the gate, it just increased with time. Henderson has no role currently other than being a warm body.

When you look at the 3rd/4th round rookie RBs from the last 5 years that currently have some real fantasy value, pretty much all of them were used in some capacity right out of the gate. James Conner is probably the best example of getting usage later but even he, behind a 100% healthy Le'Veon Bell, had more usage than Henderson. Even Kenyan Drake, who most saw as little more than a special teams draft pick, had 20 touches through his first 3 weeks.

When you start looking at guys who weren't used basically at all right away, you get guys like Tyler Ervin, Wayne Gallman, Joe Williams.

[Dynasty DeLorean]

He’s nothing like kamara, the comp couldn’t be less accurate.

[dynastyninja]

Just the mention of Alvin Kamara pushed Henderson up at least one full round in rookie drafts.

[bjd5211]

He’s nothing like kamara, the comp couldn’t be less accurate.

Agreed, but that was the common one thrown around in the offseason.

[honcho55]

Maybe they are just keeping him fresh because they know Gurleys knees are gonna assplode.

[bjd5211]

Maybe they are just keeping him fresh because they know Gurleys knees are gonna assplode.

They're trying to keep a rookie, who hasn't shown anything at the NFL level, fresh for when he possibly has to show something at the NFL level? Ok...

[TheNuts]

Two games into his career he is a bust and wasted pick. Wtf. Just like Kyler was a bust after a few bad series in a preseason game. It's a dynasty hold for the future. If you expect immediate returns from every rookie then you deserve to be disappointed

[hoos89]

Two games into his career he is a bust and wasted pick. Wtf. Just like Kyler was a bust after a few bad series in a preseason game. It's a dynasty hold for the future. If you expect immediate returns from every rookie then you deserve to be disappointed

I think people typically expect immediate production from running backs they draft in the top half of the first round...or at least to see some opportunities. I'd be pretty nervous if I spent a mid-first on Henderson given that he has hardly season the field through week 2 and has a grand total of 1 carry for 0 yards (and 0 targets), while I passed on a bunch of players who are putting up strong early showings. Seriously just look at the sorts of things people were projecting for Henderson this season. His value assumed that he was going to get a significant share of snaps even with Gurley healthy.

[Vcize]

Two games into his career he is a bust and wasted pick. Wtf. Just like Kyler was a bust after a few bad series in a preseason game. It's a dynasty hold for the future. If you expect immediate returns from every rookie then you deserve to be disappointed

No one is saying bust or wasted pick, but underreacting in fantasy football is just as detrimental as overreacting.

Two games into last season you could still trade David Johnson for Saquon Barkley. Two games into last season you could still get Kamara/CMC for less than top 5 value. Two games into last season you could still trade RoJo for a 1st orund pick.

There have been plenty of guys to ride the pine early in their careers and still turn into good NFL and fantasy players. But at RB, in the modern NFL, history is not on the side of guys that got 1 touch through their first 2 games. For RBs, most of the time, you either have it or you don't.

[Sriracha]

Two games into his career he is a bust and wasted pick. Wtf. Just like Kyler was a bust after a few bad series in a preseason game. It's a dynasty hold for the future. If you expect immediate returns from every rookie then you deserve to be disappointed

No one is saying bust or wasted pick, but underreacting in fantasy football is just as detrimental as overreacting.

Two games into last season you could still trade David Johnson for Saquon Barkley. Two games into last season you could still get Kamara/CMC for less than top 5 value. Two games into last season you could still trade RoJo for a 1st orund pick.

There have been plenty of guys to ride the pine early in their careers and still turn into good NFL and fantasy players. But at RB, in the modern NFL, history is not on the side of guys that got 1 touch through their first 2 games. For RBs, most of the time, you either have it or you don't.

It's not uncommon for RBs to not see playing time until they shore up their pass protection (which is the most likely reason that he's been ghosted up to this point).

But hidden amidst his donuts through two weeks is the fact that Gurley is clearly not a workhorse back anymore. Is Malcolm Brown that talented? I would say no, and it's only a matter of time until Henderson replaces him in the LAR RBBC.

[Vcize]

Two games into his career he is a bust and wasted pick. Wtf. Just like Kyler was a bust after a few bad series in a preseason game. It's a dynasty hold for the future. If you expect immediate returns from every rookie then you deserve to be disappointed

No one is saying bust or wasted pick, but underreacting in fantasy football is just as detrimental as overreacting.

Two games into last season you could still trade David Johnson for Saquon Barkley. Two games into last season you could still get Kamara/CMC for less than top 5 value. Two games into last season you could still trade RoJo for a 1st orund pick.

There have been plenty of guys to ride the pine early in their careers and still turn into good NFL and fantasy players. But at RB, in the modern NFL, history is not on the side of guys that got 1 touch through their first 2 games. For RBs, most of the time, you either have it or you don't.

It's not uncommon for RBs to not see playing time until they shore up their pass protection (which is the most likely reason that he's been ghosted up to this point).

But hidden amidst his donuts through two weeks is the fact that Gurley is clearly not a workhorse back anymore. Is Malcolm Brown that talented? I would say no, and it's only a matter of time until Henderson replaces him in the LAR RBBC.

It is very uncommon for RBs that turn into quality fantasy players to see THIS little playing time out of the gates.

Usually if a player is at all impressive they find a way to get him the ball in situations where he doesn't have to pass protect. Usually it's more like what we are seeing out of guys like Singletary or Justice Hill where they aren't trusted to pass protect, but they work around that.

In fact out of the current top 25 dynasty RBs only one had this few touches through their first two active games. That was Aaron Jones who was a 5th round pick so was obviously expected to be much more of a longshot for playing time.