Fantasy Football Today: Derrick Henry still an obvious start for the playoffs despite recent struggles

Derrick Henry was thought to be the safest play in this week’s slate of games, and he proceeded to post a season-low six Fantasy points in Week 15 against the New York Giants. His 14 carries for 67 yards was his lowest yardage output since his 46-yard performance in Week 1 against the Kansas City Chiefs. While Henry is still ranked third among all Fantasy running backs, the Ravens will face a couple of tough defenses in the remaining three weeks of the season.

 The Steelers and the Texans boast run defenses that are currently ranked within the top 10 of the league. Turning in a stellar performance against a talented run defense isn’t out of the question for Henry; he’s made a career out of it. However, in his last game against the Steelers, he posted 13 carries for 65 yards and one touchdown, which was good for 10 Fantasy points.

On this week’s Fantasy recap, Adam Aizer asked Heath Cummings if Derrick Henry should be benched next week.

“No, I don’t think anyone is benching Derrick Henry,” Heath said. “… He had all the touchdowns early. There’s already been a couple jokes in the chat about Adam (Aizer) still thinks Lamar Jackson is the MVP. Lamar Jackson threw five touchdown passes and had 355 yards from scrimmage today. He had all the touchdowns today.”

Heath makes a great point here. Henry’s lack of production this week wasn’t necessarily an indictment on the Ravens’ ability to run the ball but more so a matter of the Ravens riding the hot hand. The Giants secondary was extremely porous, and Lamar took advantage of their deficiencies early and often. Henry averaged 4.8 yards per carry against the Giants, and if that average is extrapolated over 20 carries, he’s staring at a near 100-yard game.

How the Ravens utilized Henry yielded middling results against a hapless Giants defense; they may want to rethink their approach heading into Week 16 against the Steelers. Many of Henry’s carries with Lamar in shotgun, and he could be that much more effective if he received more carries with Lamar under center.

It’s a little easier to disguise running plays with the quarterback under center. Additionally, it gives defenders less time to react. This creates more opportunities in the run game as running backs are often able to get into the second level of the defense faster than they would in the pistol or shotgun. This subtle tweak could enable Henry to have a much better outing against the Steelers. Henry is projected to reach 16.40 Fantasy points next week, and it’s entirely possible if the Ravens remain committed to the run. Also, the Steelers look to be unable to sustain drives without George Pickens in the lineup. 

If the Steelers put up another paltry 20:08 minutes of possession as they did against the Eagles, Henry will have plenty of time to run roughshod over the Steelers defense. Henry may struggle to maintain RB1 status over the next two games because of the talent of the opposition on the defensive side of the ball, but he’s, at minimum, an RB2 and should never spend a moment on a Fantasy bench.

For more Fantasy insight, be sure to check out the entire Week 15 Fantasy Recap – or watch (and subscribe) on Youtube.