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RB Darrell Henderson, LAR (2 Viewers)

Teams are always looking for play makers.  Gurley's health far from a given. Could have been viewed as best player available and a reasonable fit/need. 
BPA that the Rams traded two late 3rds to go and get in the early 3rd.  I gotta think they graded him at least a solid 2nd round talent or really liked him a lot better than the rest, everyone but Jacobs and Sanders at the time.  Either way, I think there are a lot of reasons for why McVay wanted him and they all makes sense.  

 
I've been following this thread as an irrational Malcolm Brown owner. Doesn't a third round pick seem like a pretty steep price for a COP back? Yes, the Rams are win now, but still. Doesn't seem like a rational move.
Rams are offense dependent for the most part & are in win-now mode. A RB in the 3rd makes some sense with Gurley's arthritic knee.

Brown as the feature back & a little bit of Henderson could be really good.

 
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Super Bowl has really tarnished McVay’s image.

 Imagine seeing them pick CJ Anderson over Gurley in the SB, knowing that his knee is arthritic from reports, having them match an offer on Malcolm Brown who is about the definition of the words JAG, and then watch them not just select but trade up for a back that literally ran ~23% of his snaps split out wide and then thinking McVay is only going to use him as a COP. I love the fantasy community, high arbitrage that people will be regretting the first time Henderson touches the ball in preseason. 

Bottom line: Sean McVay traded up to get a RB he can literally use like Cooper Kupp... and people are letting him slide into the mid 2nd.

 
Super Bowl has really tarnished McVay’s image.

 Imagine seeing them pick CJ Anderson over Gurley in the SB, knowing that his knee is arthritic from reports, having them match an offer on Malcolm Brown who is about the definition of the words JAG, and then watch them not just select but trade up for a back that literally ran ~23% of his snaps split out wide and then thinking McVay is only going to use him as a COP. I love the fantasy community, high arbitrage that people will be regretting the first time Henderson touches the ball in preseason. 

Bottom line: Sean McVay traded up to get a RB he can literally use like Cooper Kupp... and people are letting him slide into the mid 2nd.
This is more or less my take as well. Especially the part about people letting him slide to the mid 2nd. I don't and won't know what it's like to sit there at 1.10 or 1.11 as a Gurley owner, but I kind of want to move in and snipe them. I'm actively looking to trade into the late 1st if I can pick the right spots. People seem to be wanting to trade out of this draft for relatively cheap, too.

 
Super Bowl has really tarnished McVay’s image.

 Imagine seeing them pick CJ Anderson over Gurley in the SB, knowing that his knee is arthritic from reports, having them match an offer on Malcolm Brown who is about the definition of the words JAG, and then watch them not just select but trade up for a back that literally ran ~23% of his snaps split out wide and then thinking McVay is only going to use him as a COP. I love the fantasy community, high arbitrage that people will be regretting the first time Henderson touches the ball in preseason. 

Bottom line: Sean McVay traded up to get a RB he can literally use like Cooper Kupp... and people are letting him slide into the mid 2nd.
Did Henderson run routes out of the slot? I have little knowledge of his college days, so any insight would be helpful.

Also, apartment robbed tonight, so please distract me!!!

 
Did Henderson run routes out of the slot? I have little knowledge of his college days, so any insight would be helpful.

Also, apartment robbed tonight, so please distract me!!!
I don’t know about slot specific. My knowledge comes from Graham Barfield, who is a favorite of mine. He does Yards Created series. In that he stated that Henderson split out wide an estimated ~23% of the time, he also had zero drops. Combine that with Rams use of shotgun, Henderson had the third highest yards created from shotgun since the articles began behind Dalvin Cook and Joe Mixon.

I cant believe people want to be so trusting of McVay. Does anyone believe Stephen Jones when he says Tony Pollard is going to see 30 snaps a game or Tavon Austin is going to touch the ball 20-25 times? Here is some gems from McVay before giving Gurley 11 touches to CJ Anderson’s 9 in the Super Bowl:

He shouldered the blame for getting Gurley just four carries in the NFC championship game, saying he “should’ve done a better job of getting Todd more involved.”

“He’s feeling good. A hundred percent,” McVay said last week.

“We expect him to play a big role in this game,” he stated in another Super Bowl media session from Atlanta.

After the game, McVay once again said “Todd is healthy” and that the knee was a non-issue.

“I just think really, it’s more of a result of just kind of the lack of opportunities he had,” McVay said. “I don’t want to be a broken record, but the reality is that we didn’t get a lot of plays off in general”

McVay pinning Gurley’s lack of touches on “opportunities” once again is getting old.

Lance Dunbar... lolz

 
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I don’t know about slot specific. My knowledge comes from Graham Barfield, who is a favorite of mine. He does Yards Created series. In that he stated that Henderson split out wide an estimated ~23% of the time, he also had zero drops. Combine that with Rams use of shotgun, Henderson had the third highest yards created from shotgun since the articles began behind Dalvin Cook and Joe Mixon.

I cant believe people want to be so trusting of McVay. Does anyone believe Stephen Jones when he says Tony Pollard is going to see 30 snaps a game or Tavon Austin is going to touch the ball 20-25 times? Here is some gems from McVay before giving Gurley 11 touches to CJ Anderson’s 9 in the Super Bowl:

He shouldered the blame for getting Gurley just four carries in the NFC championship game, saying he “should’ve done a better job of getting Todd more involved.”

“He’s feeling good. A hundred percent,” McVay said last week.

“We expect him to play a big role in this game,” he stated in another Super Bowl media session from Atlanta.

After the game, McVay once again said “Todd is healthy” and that the knee was a non-issue.

“I just think really, it’s more of a result of just kind of the lack of opportunities he had,” McVay said. “I don’t want to be a broken record, but the reality is that we didn’t get a lot of plays off in general”

McVay pinning Gurley’s lack of touches on “opportunities” once again is getting old.

Lance Dunbar... lolz
Lol, he recently said he should have gotten Gurley more involved and they would have won.

Tex

 
Rams are offense dependent for the most part & are in win-now mode. A RB in the 3rd makes some sense with Gurley's arthritic knee.

Brown as the feature back & a little bit of Henderson could be really good.


I’d like to see you flesh this out a bit.  What makes Brown a more valuable and startable RB than Henderson?  Brown was a slouch in college and he’s been a slouch in the NFL.  He’s the poster child for replacement level RBs.  4.0 ypc in a strong run O and not much in his game to think it will ever get better.  The Rams thought so much of him that instead of resigning him they put an original round tender on him.  As an UDFA that means that it only gave them the opportunity to match as protection.  When they saw DET put a 2 year offer at $1.6M per, it was almost a “wth” match.  CJA was a street FA when LA picked him up and he promptly stole Brown’s job (and thrived where Brown didn’t).

Since you seem be be stating as fact that Brown is RB2 in LA, I’d like to know what makes you think that he’s got anywhere near enough game to hold off a RB like Henderson.

 
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Lol, he recently said he should have gotten Gurley more involved and they would have won.

Tex
Coaches lie with rare exception. It’s what they do. Basing fantasy value on what a coach says vs what he does can be costly. McVay has proven to me he is a liar. I’m trying to think of honest coaches. I think I remember Kubiak, Arians and occasionally Tomlin will drop a truth bomb when he’s not dancing around a straight answer. 

 
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I’d like to see you flesh this out a bit.  What makes Brown a more valuable and startable RB than Henderson?  Brown was a slouch in college and he’s been a slouch in the NFL.  He’s the poster child for replacement level RBs.  4.0 ypc in a strong run O and not much in his game to think it will ever get better.  The Rams thought so much of him that instead of resigning him they put an original round tender on him.  As an UDFA that means that it only gave them the opportunity to match as protection.  When they saw DET put a 2 year offer at $1.6M per, it was almost a “wth” match.

Since you seem be be stating as fact that Brown is RB2 in LA, I’d like to know what makes you think that he’s got anywhere near enough game to hold off a RB like Henderson.
I think you're underselling Brown by quite a bit. Bottom line is we disagree about the talents of Brown & Henderson.

Brown has a good all-around game. He's looked good. Very good at times. Also, they chose him over Anderson, who really produced nicely for them.

As far as Henderson, even if you get passed the fact their front office stated he'll be a COP, he doesn't have a typical feature back skill set, IMO. One thing that stands out is the lack of loose hips that can help smaller (lighter) RBs. He doesn't seem to have plus vision, either. As a "profile" pick for a specific role, it's ok. Don't love the talent, though, & don't like him at all as a feature back. I was surprised Henderson went that early, but the weak RB class was no doubt a factor. 

 
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I think you're underselling Brown by quite a bit. Bottom line is we disagree about the talents of Brown & Henderson.

Brown has a good all-around game. He's looked good. Very good at times.


When did Brown look good for LA?  It’s not my intent to be argumentative, but rather to try to see what you’re seeing.  Brown has gotten more than 4 carries at any time in his 3 year career twice to date and when he did he never eclipsed 2.3 ypc. I’m just not getting where you are founding your opinion on, but believe me I’m willing to listen given that Brown is on the WW and Gurley has some bonafide questions.

ETA - the lined through data is incorrect

 
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This makes sense. Remember how they used Tavon Austin in 2017. Lots of jet sweep action. I think Mcvay likes having that threat as another form of play action. I think a lot of teams are missing out by not using that element. 

 
When did Brown look good for LA?  It’s not my intent to be argumentative, but rather to try to see what you’re seeing.  Brown has gotten more than 4 carries at any time in his 3 year career twice to date and when he did he never eclipsed 2.3 ypc. I’m just not getting where you are founding your opinion on, but believe me I’m willing to listen given that Brown is on the WW and Gurley has some bonafide questions.
The only positive thing for Brown is that the team keeps saying good things about him and they matched the Lions offer in the offseason to make sure they didn’t lose him. 

 
Bottom line: Sean McVay traded up to get a RB he can literally use like Cooper Kupp... and people are letting him slide into the mid 2nd.
Are they? He went 1.09 in my only draft so far and I surely would have grabbed him at 1.12 if he was there. I agree that, especially in this draft class, he's a late first round pick at worst.

 
The only positive thing for Brown is that the team keeps saying good things about him and they matched the Lions offer in the offseason to make sure they didn’t lose him. 


Scratch my posting of his carries to date.  I foolishly failed to expand his game log table.

My apologies.

 
Are they? He went 1.09 in my only draft so far and I surely would have grabbed him at 1.12 if he was there. I agree that, especially in this draft class, he's a late first round pick at worst.
I’ve seen 2.06, 2.09 even as far as the 3rd. Obviously different leagues have different viewpoints, also not always 100% on format. Though, I only think Superflex/2 QB should push him down any.

 
Brown is 26 years old.  He's an insurance policy that they know and can afford. Either way you look at it though l, this backfield is very crowded with Kelly in the mix too.  

 
When did Brown look good for LA?  It’s not my intent to be argumentative, but rather to try to see what you’re seeing.  Brown has gotten more than 4 carries at any time in his 3 year career twice to date and when he did he never eclipsed 2.3 ypc. I’m just not getting where you are founding your opinion on, but believe me I’m willing to listen given that Brown is on the WW and Gurley has some bonafide questions.

ETA - the lined through data is incorrect
You don't think Brown looked good last season? I'm not saying he's a stud, but dude can ball & does everything well. It's really a shame Brown got injured before Gurley went down because he would be much more highly regarded right now.

Anyway, I thought this was more about Henderson, but I'm confident Brown would be their starter if Gurley can't go (based on skill set, alone).

 
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You guys are making me happy I took him at 2.2.
I think it's two fold:

1. the wrs in this class have some great value 1.7-1.12. The guys slipping were top 4 or 5 picks pre draft and even some picks at 1.3 are slipping to 1.9 in some drafts. they're all over the place for consistency purposes. So Henderson should fall in that scenario, but not too far. 

2. The 1.11-1.12 are typically teams with Gurley, I'd imagine, so why wouldnt you cuff that guy?

I wouldn't spend a high pick on him, even though I've contemplated it, because if he doesn't reach that upside it's a pick that can really set back your franchise. Good value late 1st round for sure. 

 
Out of the 40 trades made during the weekend, CBS's RJ White ranked the Rams trade to get Henderson 39th (or the 2nd worse in value).  Another confirmation just how bad the Rams wanted Henderson.  

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/2019-nfl-draft-ranking-all-40-trades-from-cardinals-poor-return-for-josh-rosen-to-the-first-round-deal-at-no-1/

39. Rams add Gurley insurance

Rams get No. 70 (RB Henderson)

Buccaneers get No. 94, 99

I'm not surprised the Rams would want to bring in a plan B at the running back position after Todd Gurley dealt with injuries at the end of last year. I'm just surprised how big a price they paid to do it. They lost the value of the No. 167 pick to make the move, and I'm not sure about overpaying that much to go get running backs in this era of the NFL. I like Darrell Henderson as a prospect, but after bringing back Malcolm Brown, I think the Rams would have been smarter just keeping their pair of late third-round picks and going a different route at running back.

 
I’m good with a rich man’s James White if that’s the role McVay envisions him in. Plus some potential jet sweep action. And the possibility of more if Gurley goes down.

 
I agree the Rams wanted Henderson pretty bad, but that still doesn't make him a starter, especially with them stating his role will be as a COP.

Considering their situation (Gurley's uncertainty, win-now mode, needing/wanting a COP-type), I can understand the pick regardless of what I think of his talent.

Henderson is a decent RB. In the right role, he could produce.

 
I’m good with a rich man’s James White if that’s the role McVay envisions him in. Plus some potential jet sweep action. And the possibility of more if Gurley goes down.
That's an optimistic projection IMO. White had 87 receptions last year. 

Where are those receptions going to come from? Gurley? Maybe. He had 59 last year, maybe they cut those in half to help preserve him. So 30 receptions for Henderson? That's a far cry from James White

 
I agree the Rams wanted Henderson pretty bad, but that still doesn't make him a starter, especially with them stating his role will be as a COP.

Considering their situation (Gurley's uncertainty, win-now mode, needing/wanting a COP-type), I can understand the pick regardless of what I think of his talent.

Henderson is a decent RB. In the right role, he could produce.
yeah I think this is one of those picks that's better for real life NFL and not for fantasy.

LAR traded up for him, so the fa tasy community links that to playing time and Gurleys knee is bad. Real life, they maybe saw him as a need for special teams and COP since they dont have a COP. They dont have a ton of holes and are in win now. So they went and got the guy that best fit the hole they had. 

Not every move translates to fantasy. 

If you're drafting Henderson looking for year 1 or even year 2 weekly production, barring injury to Gurley you're going to be disappointed. Henderson is a long game play for sure. Makes sense for teams at the end of round 1 or in a major rebuild early round 2 to go for him as you may not need immediate production 

 
yeah I think this is one of those picks that's better for real life NFL and not for fantasy.

LAR traded up for him, so the fa tasy community links that to playing time and Gurleys knee is bad. Real life, they maybe saw him as a need for special teams and COP since they dont have a COP. They dont have a ton of holes and are in win now. So they went and got the guy that best fit the hole they had. 

Not every move translates to fantasy. 

If you're drafting Henderson looking for year 1 or even year 2 weekly production, barring injury to Gurley you're going to be disappointed. Henderson is a long game play for sure. Makes sense for teams at the end of round 1 or in a major rebuild early round 2 to go for him as you may not need immediate production 


If Henderson can capture one third of the work in that backfield, it would put him around 150 touches and 850 yds.  That wouldn’t be a bad year 1.  

I think the wildcard is Gurley’s knee.  We kept hearing that Gurley was healthy yet we kept seeing CJA getting trotted out and doing well while the allegedly healthy Gurley languished on the bench.  It made no sense to a lot of people, and connecting the dots leads to questions about Gurley’s longevity and ability to handle a full load.  If that’s the case and Henderson manages to get workload into the 40s% plus, then that sets the table for a pretty decent season and maybe more.  

The upside is massive and there just isn’t enough information to quantify the major unknown.  That’s enough to make me jump on board.

 
That's an optimistic projection IMO. White had 87 receptions last year. 

Where are those receptions going to come from? Gurley? Maybe. He had 59 last year, maybe they cut those in half to help preserve him. So 30 receptions for Henderson? That's a far cry from James White
87 catches is a lot. I certainly wouldn’t project that out of the gate or maybe even ever. But I do believe that if he’s talented they’ll get him touches. I have little doubt that he’s more explosive than James White. His tape and his combine indicate as much. Is he as good a receiver? Will the Rams throw to him as much? I don’t know. It seems to be accepted that he’s already a plus receiver. Given that he lined up as such a ton in college and the Rams seem to think of him as such. I believe in his talent and I believe in McVay to be innovative enough to utilize someone with talent. So I’m buying. If he isn’t any good then he’ll languish behind Gurley. If he does have talent then I have faith he’ll get the ball in some fashion.

 
I see everyone me talking about him being a pass catcher. While he does have decent hands, we're looking at an upside of about 45 catches most.

And that's living in the "perfect" future.

 
I see everyone me talking about him being a pass catcher. While he does have decent hands, we're looking at an upside of about 45 catches most.

And that's living in the "perfect" future.
The perfect future would be Gurley has chronic arthritis, Brown is a JAG, and Henderson is a smaller Kamara or more explosive, better between the tackles James White...

To be clear that’s not what I’m projecting. But that would be absolute. If his talent is an advantage for the Rams and you have faith in the Rams to exploit advantages then he’ll be utilized. Judging his talent is up to the individual using his college film/stats, combine numbers, and draft position as tools. As is judging McVay’s ability to run an offense.

 
zeeshan2 said:
[Norris] Rams' Sean McVay and Les Snead were very honest in their evaluation and planned usage for Darrell Henderson. Todd Gurley, 3 down skills. Malcolm Brown, 3 down skills. Darrell Henderson, change of pace. Repeatedly cited their plan for Lance Dunbar back in 2017 before knee injury.

https://twitter.com/JoshNorris/status/1123660932599693312
Plan A - Gurley w/a mix of Henderson and no Brown

Plan B (Gurley active, but w/a barking knee) - some Gurley w/a little more Henderson and something more than nothing from Brown

Plan C (Gurley out) - some Brown w/a little more Henderson

Brown has 3 down skills, but they're a steep drop from healthy (enough) Gurley.  If Gurley's out or limited then he will see more opportunities, but Henderson will too.

 
I took him 2.01 in 10 team league and was surprised he was still there. But I’m a sucker for upside. And I’m in rebuild mode so for me no brainer

 
I agree the Rams wanted Henderson pretty bad, but that still doesn't make him a starter, especially with them stating his role will be as a COP.

Considering their situation (Gurley's uncertainty, win-now mode, needing/wanting a COP-type), I can understand the pick regardless of what I think of his talent.

Henderson is a decent RB. In the right role, he could produce.
Considering how much the Rams' offense "changes pace", I think you are undervaluing what the whole "COP back" thing means.  In this context.

 
Considering how much the Rams' offense "changes pace", I think you are undervaluing what the whole "COP back" thing means.  In this context.
My strict definition is a backup who'll get some touches. The number of which will depend on a lot of factors.

 
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Lol, he recently said he should have gotten Gurley more involved and they would have won.

Tex
No clue why anyone listens to what these coaches say to the public.

Of course they aren't gonna say they drafted a guy due to fears about Gurley's knee.  Then all offseason they will have to answer questions non-stop on the issue.

All offseason every player is in the best shape of their life, all their rookies are studs, etc.

Better to completely ignore coach speak.  They have an agenda.

 
I can officially stop hiding my enthusiasm for this guy. 

Landing spot isnt the most ideal, but I do think he stands to have good value. CJ had plenty of startable games with an active Gurley. I think Henderson can be the same, and we will see what the deal with Gurleys knee is. that will only get progressively worse. 

Pretty stoked to land him. I probably took him too soon for most people's liking but considering the needs of my league I dont think I could have gotten him any later

 
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I can officially stop hiding my enthusiasm for this guy. 

Landing spot isnt the most ideal, but I do think he stands to have good value. CJ had plenty of startable games with an active Gurley. I think Henderson can be the same, and we will see what the deal with Gurleys knee is. that will only get progressively worse. 

Pretty stoked to land him. I probably took him too soon for most people's liking but considering the needs of my league I dont think I could have gotten him any later
Where did you draft him?

 
kutta said:
Where did you draft him?
6th. Montgomery fell and was still on the board. I did not want to come away with 2 RBs, and 1.8 had a desperate need for rb. So I took Henderson and threatened to take montgomery in order to get another high 2nd rounder. I had picks 6, 7, 9, 10. 

 
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6th. Montgomery fell and was still on the board. I did not want to come away with 2 RBs, and 1.7 had a desperate need for rb. So I took Henderson and threatened to take montgomery in order to get another high 2nd rounder. I had picks 6, 7, 9, 10. 
personally I think you should of taken Montgomery....but that's just me

 
6th. Montgomery fell and was still on the board. I did not want to come away with 2 RBs, and 1.7 had a desperate need for rb. So I took Henderson and threatened to take montgomery in order to get another high 2nd rounder. I had picks 6, 7, 9, 10. 
With that much capital I think it was smart to take who you wanted at 6. Plenty of WR available at 9/10 plus you walk away with a 2nd.

 
Dr. Dan said:
I can officially stop hiding my enthusiasm for this guy. 

Landing spot isnt the most ideal, but I do think he stands to have good value. CJ had plenty of startable games with an active Gurley. I think Henderson can be the same, and we will see what the deal with Gurleys knee is. that will only get progressively worse. 

Pretty stoked to land him. I probably took him too soon for most people's liking but considering the needs of my league I dont think I could have gotten him any later
I'll probably end up taking him at 1.07/1.08 in a couple spots. One in particular the Gurley owner is at 1.11. I don't want to let him fall there.

 
personally I think you should of taken Montgomery....but that's just me
I'm not a real big fan of his situation with them bringing in Davis. Curious if it'll be bigger committee than the coaches make it seem to be. Montgomery doesn't have stud potential, but I do see that out of Henderson. I have Barkley, Guice, Mixon, Barber already so I don't need a rookie to produce today, although I think Henderson has potential to.

 
Just to provide some perspective, here's the spot he was taken in each of my leagues so far.  I'm in another league where we are up to pick 14 and he's still on the board.

11
12 (32-team)
14 (Devy-depleted)
17 (Superflex)
21 (2QB)
23 (Superflex)

 

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