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RB Darrell Henderson, LAR (1 Viewer)

Henderson is still the starter, and should still receive 65-70% of the touches when healthy.

In what should be a very good offense on a team that has a shot at the SB:

I'll say:

Henderson  1000-7  350-2

Michel  400-5 150-1
I don't think he will get more than 55% of the carries to be honest and wouldn't be surprised if it's a 50/50 split.  McVay can't be trusted.  It's not like Henderson is a Todd Gurley before injuries robbed him and Henderson himself has had trouble staying on the field.  I'm saying this as a Henderson owner in 2 leagues and Michel in none.

 
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I'm going to fully disagree with the reactions in this thread to the Michel news. This is a worst case scenario for Henderson. Michel isn't a compliment to Henderson, he's a direct threat, and could take his starting job. 

I think this is the end of Henderson as an RB2. I'll settle for calling both guys RB3s at the moment, but Michel has certainly proven a lot more than Henderson to date. 

 
Isn't he a 5th rounder now?
The last week I’ve been live mocking like crazy and he’s been predominantly going in the 5th. He’s probably a 6th rounder now. 

Henderson already sprained his thumb & clearly the “next in line” duo failed to impress.

After all this time Sony is one somewhat fragile RB away from being the featured back on the Rams? Please dear lord….let this happen so I can finally trade him!!

:wub:   

 
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I'm going to fully disagree with the reactions in this thread to the Michel news. This is a worst case scenario for Henderson. Michel isn't a compliment to Henderson, he's a direct threat, and could take his starting job. 

I think this is the end of Henderson as an RB2. I'll settle for calling both guys RB3s at the moment, but Michel has certainly proven a lot more than Henderson to date. 
Usage is going to definitively answer that question, but I’m inclined to agree. Other than Henderson is completely familiar with McVay’s concepts right now while Sony probably has some playbook to learn, but it is possible that Michel is given a chance here, or that it’s full RBBC. 

It’s certainly too much of a gamble for me to take on Henderson in the 5th or 6th. 

 
Usage is going to definitively answer that question, but I’m inclined to agree. Other than Henderson is completely familiar with McVay’s concepts right now while Sony probably has some playbook to learn, but it is possible that Michel is given a chance here, or that it’s full RBBC. 

It’s certainly too much of a gamble for me to take on Henderson in the 5th or 6th. 
This has a Fournette/Jones vibe written all over it to me. I'm not touching either guy until round 8 or so, and if that means I get neither, I'm happy with that.

 
Watching the preseason NE games, hopefully my anecdotal take isn't too far off.

Michel (others have noted this, not my skill to assess this) great in pass pro. In the pre-season, they were throwing to him more than I'd been used to seeing. I had assumed this was because they were trying to figure out if they should be trading White or trading/ cutting JJ Taylor. White was less effective last year given what he was dealing with and/ or maybe getting a little past his prime. JJ is undersized and may not ever be able to hold up in pass pro. 

Michel had been impressing with all of his skills, late last year looked much improved running and this preseason looked totally capable catching the ball. 

Have to believe this makes predicting Henderson's usage much more difficult, dumping him into the more typical SF/NE range of "avoid until later" RBs.

 
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RB Depth is always important, and this season, we have one more regular season game.  There are precious few every-down backs in the league, and Henderson was never realistically going to be a workhorse back.  There was always an expectation that the Rams would bring in a veteran back.  Fantasy managers with shares of Henderson and Xavier Jones were no doubt hoping for nothing more than mere roster depth, but I doubt the signing of a RB who could challenge for playing time comes as a complete shock.  

I agree with @travdogg that this could be similar to the Jones-Fournette situation.  Henderson should, at least at the outset, get the lions' share of touches, but look for Michel to carve into that role as the season progresses and he learns the playbook.  Unfortunately for Xavier Jones, he could be the Ke'Shawn Vaughn in this trio.

 
RB Depth is always important, and this season, we have one more regular season game.  There are precious few every-down backs in the league, and Henderson was never realistically going to be a workhorse back.  There was always an expectation that the Rams would bring in a veteran back.  Fantasy managers with shares of Henderson and Xavier Jones were no doubt hoping for nothing more than mere roster depth, but I doubt the signing of a RB who could challenge for playing time comes as a complete shock.  

I agree with @travdogg that this could be similar to the Jones-Fournette situation.  Henderson should, at least at the outset, get the lions' share of touches, but look for Michel to carve into that role as the season progresses and he learns the playbook.  Unfortunately for Xavier Jones, he could be the Ke'Shawn Vaughn in this trio.
Forget about X Jones and Funk.  Don't waste a roster spot on these guys now.

 
Isn't he a 5th rounder now?
Depends on what platform you're drafting from. In FPC redrafts he is going mid 4th for the most part. I imagine he falls to the 6th here and there now. I'm really not scared off as I think this was largely inevitable. Henderson is still the main guy here. So we seem to be in agreement about dropping about a round but I wonder if it will be further. I think he just became a little bit of a value again although I never had a problem taking him in the 4th before.

 
I don't disagree that Sony is a threat. When I do take backs in that dead zone, I usually do it with tempered expectations anyway. I am really not looking for bellcow production in there unless it is a rookie with decent draft capital that could take the role. But now that they moved for Sony, if I do take any more shares of Henderson in that zone I will likely try to take Sony as well. And then the risk of a committee and clogging your roster comes up so I probably won't want to do that. But *if* I start WR/WR/TE like I sometimes do in these big national contests, I might take them both if I need to (Henderson isn't high on my list). If I start robust RB, which is what I am more likely to do, then Henderson is an easy fade and maybe I take Sony later. 

I know Sony has gone undrafted in a *lot* of leagues so far.

 
Watching the preseason NE games, hopefully my anecdotal take isn't too far off.

Michel (others have noted this, not my skill to assess this) great in pass pro. In the pre-season, they were throwing to him more than I'd been used to seeing. I had assumed this was because they were trying to figure out if they should be trading White or trading/ cutting JJ Taylor. White was less effective last year given what he was dealing with and/ or maybe getting a little past his prime. JJ is undersized and may not ever be able to hold up in pass pro. 

Michel had been impressing with all of his skills, late last year looked much improved running and this spring looked totally capable catching the ball. 

Have to believe this makes predicting Henderson's usage much more difficult, dumping him into the more typical SF/NE range of "avoid until later" RBs.
I can't speak for what the Rams plans are and how they will use him, but IMO Michel is probably a 150-175 carry, 30 reception back if utilized properly. They could likely give him more work (but he has been injury prone).

Henderson hasn't exactly been a heavy usage, incumbent starting RB. He was slated to take on more work with Akers out, but he's unproven as a big carry back. He's had 20 carries in a game one time (no other games with 16+ carries). Michel's had 11 games with 20+ carries (and another 10 with 16+ carries). If Michel flashes and can establish he's a better option than Henderson, I don't see any reason why they would just have Michel as a backup with a limited role.

 
Forget about X Jones and Funk.  Don't waste a roster spot on these guys now.
💯 

their value was purely “‘next man up”

both are easy drops now. Sony’s value is now “next man up” at the very least, and as others have suggested, potentially time-share RB at best. 

And as “next man up” behind a dude who’s been dinged up pretty often, Sony may have an easier path to value than others. 

And I will trade him the instant that happens. :pickle:  

 
💯

their value was purely “‘next man up”

both are easy drops now. Sony’s value is now “next man up” at the very least, and as others have suggested, potentially time-share RB at best. 

And as “next man up” behind a dude who’s been dinged up pretty often, Sony may have an easier path to value than others. 

And I will trade him the instant that happens. :pickle:  
Michel has averaged 15 carries a game across his NFL career. That’s a much bigger workload than Henderson has seen. As I said earlier, I don’t know what McVay has in store for Michel, but I would expect it’s more than just being a true backup RB. 

 
Sony Michel is rumored to be available. Before people laugh, he had a 5.7 ypc last year (he missed almost half the season with a quad injury and COVID). Not sure he would be considered a heavy usage back, but he would probably be a decent half the workload option.
I suggested this 5 minutes after the news broke that Akers was done for the season back in July. I can't really take 100% credit, as since then it appeared NE was ramping up Michel for an in-house role this season while the Rams didn't seem all that interested in adding someone from outside the organization. Henderson's thumb injury likely turned the tide on the Rams side . . . and strong performances from Stevenson and Taylor swayed things for the Patriots. It would be strange should Michel end up ranked the highest at the end of the year for the backs in play here.

I do think it's a little odd that NE would move Michel after he finally started flashing as an all around RB and the guy they thought they would be getting as a first round pick. But they had already restocked the cupboard with other RB options since then. If Michel stays healthy, the Rams got themselves a decent back.

 
The NE crowd on these boards and I have had multiple discussions over the years about how the Patriots use their running RBs in the receiving game. The script is the same every time they bring in someone new . . . PLAYER X always flashes more receiving sklls, better hands, more promise in the passing game than originally anticipated and PLAYER X will be a force catching passes out of the backfield. The problem is, that hasn't ever really happened.

To that end, Michel was barely an after thought catching the football his first two years and started showing that he was capable last year and in training camp this year. I would categorize him as being ABLE to catch passes, but up until now he hasn't been asked to do that very often. He also is excellent in pass protection, so I can definitely see where the Rams might give him more work as a receiver.

(I don't know enough about Henderson to have an opinion on either his receiving or blitz pick up capabilities. But if he's only so-so in both categories, I can see Michel getting a lot more snaps in passing situations . . . and the Rams should pass a lot more than NE would.)

 
(I don't know enough about Henderson to have an opinion on either his receiving or blitz pick up capabilities. But if he's only so-so in both categories, I can see Michel getting a lot more snaps in passing situations . . . and the Rams should pass a lot more than NE would.)
part of why we don’t know that much about Henderson is his injury history.

Arm, elbow, thigh, ankle, hammy, pectoral & now thumb. 

All of that on not a whole lot of NFL touches.

Drsft Sharks puts him at a 91% chance to miss time with injury, and projects 2.5 games.

https://www.draftsharks.com/fantasy/injury-history/darrell-henderson/10199

this write-up obviously precedes the thumb injury & Sony acquisition. 

 
part of why we don’t know that much about Henderson is his injury history.

Arm, elbow, thigh, ankle, hammy, pectoral & now thumb. 

All of that on not a whole lot of NFL touches.

Drsft Sharks puts him at a 91% chance to miss time with injury, and projects 2.5 games.

https://www.draftsharks.com/fantasy/injury-history/darrell-henderson/10199

this write-up obviously precedes the thumb injury & Sony acquisition. 
IIRC, the average time lost by RB each year is 2.5-3.0 games . . . but I am not sure we can pin that on Henderson or if that should be applied to all backs. 

 
I will never be able to prove it but I don’t think this changes how McVay was going to use DH before the trade. He was still going to be on a pitch count. He talented enough to produce on 10-12 carries and 3-4 targets. I think he will split goal line duties on top of that. I would assume DH gets 45-55 percent of the snaps, no different than I would have assumed before.

 
but Michel has certainly proven a lot more than Henderson to date. 
 How so?
I agree with travdogg, based purely on stats:

Henderson: career (2 seasons): 771 yards rushing (4.4 avg), 5 rushing TDs, 20 catches for 196 yards and 1 TD
Michel: career (3 seasons): 2292 rushing yards (4.3 avg), 14 rushing TDs, 26 catches for 258 yards and 1 TD

 
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I agree with travdogg, based purely on stats:

Henderson: career (2 seasons): 771 yards rushing (4.4 avg), 5 rushing TDs, 20 catches for 196 yards and 1 TD
Michel: career (3 seasons): 2292 rushing yards (4.3 avg), 14 rushing TDs, 26 catches for 258 yards and 1 TD
If you added one more season for Henderson they look remarkably similar. I wouldn’t call either of them proven. They’re both injury prone part time backs so far in their careers. Henderson has looked better (to me at least) if you go by eye test. I have each in 2 different leagues so I’m not coming in with any bias, just not sure how you could call either more proven

 
As a Henderson owner I am not too displeased by this trade.  I think it raises his floor, but lowers his ceiling.  12-16 touches per game seems about optimum.

As a Rhamondre owner, this is a big, positive step forward.  

 
If you added one more season for Henderson they look remarkably similar. I wouldn’t call either of them proven. They’re both injury prone part time backs so far in their careers. Henderson has looked better (to me at least) if you go by eye test. I have each in 2 different leagues so I’m not coming in with any bias, just not sure how you could call either more proven


I guess the biggest thing for me is that Michel has two seasons w/ more than 200 carries and ~900 yards, while the best Henderson has managed is 624 yards at a similar ypc to Michel's best season. I'm not going to argue one is definitely a better player than the other, but I'd agree that Michel has proven more in the NFL. He's been the lead committee back for two of his three seasons while Henderson hasn't yet managed that.

 
As a Henderson owner I am not too displeased by this trade.  I think it raises his floor, but lowers his ceiling.  12-16 touches per game seems about optimum.

As a Rhamondre owner, this is a big, positive step forward.  
How does this raise Henderson’s floor? I would think not acquiring a veteran back would have kept his floor and ceiling higher. 🤔 

 
If you added one more season for Henderson they look remarkably similar. I wouldn’t call either of them proven. They’re both injury prone part time backs so far in their careers. Henderson has looked better (to me at least) if you go by eye test. I have each in 2 different leagues so I’m not coming in with any bias, just not sure how you could call either more proven
I guess it depends what numbers we want to compare. Michel has averaged 15 carries a game over his 3 year career. IIRC, Henderson has one game with more than 15 carries in his 2 years in the league. I am not suggesting one is better than the other, but Michel has played more snaps, has more experience, and at times has been a heavy workload back. Who knows if that makes Michel more proven or more desirable . . . or if that gets Michel more playing time. But IMO Michel has proven he can get a bigger workload. Of course, he's also been dinged up, so there will be arguments and counter arguments either way.

 
I'm going to fully disagree with the reactions in this thread to the Michel news. This is a worst case scenario for Henderson. Michel isn't a compliment to Henderson, he's a direct threat, and could take his starting job. 

I think this is the end of Henderson as an RB2. I'll settle for calling both guys RB3s at the moment, but Michel has certainly proven a lot more than Henderson to date. 
From a Patriots fan, he's a JAG. No burst, no shake n bake and goes down on 1st contact.

 
As a Henderson owner I am not too displeased by this trade.  I think it raises his floor, but lowers his ceiling.  12-16 touches per game seems about optimum.

As a Rhamondre owner, this is a big, positive step forward.  
As far as Henderson goes, I don't see how this could possibly be a good thing. IMO, Michel takes at least half the RB workload  with LAR. . . and probably more. Michel could easily be the majority ball carrier. IIRC, Henderson has only had one career game with more than 15 carries (and 3 total games with 16+ touches). He had 5 games with 20 carries at Memphis, but he only had a bigger workload as a senior. Not saying he couldn't handle a bigger workload . . . but he certainly hasn't done so (or been asked to do so) at the NFL level. We already know Michel can be a 250 touch RB . . . last year Henderson averaged 10 touches per game. Maybe he gets more than that, but I would expect Michel to get more touches than Henderson.

 
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From a Patriots fan, he's a JAG. No burst, no shake n bake and goes down on 1st contact.
He was a jag his first two years. He was far from a jag last year (unless you think bums put up 5.7 ypc) and has looked fantastic in training camp. He turned the corner last year. He is currently none of the things you just posted. I posted a ton about this today in the Michel thread.

 
The NE crowd on these boards and I have had multiple discussions over the years about how the Patriots use their running RBs in the receiving game. The script is the same every time they bring in someone new . . . PLAYER X always flashes more receiving sklls, better hands, more promise in the passing game than originally anticipated and PLAYER X will be a force catching passes out of the backfield. The problem is, that hasn't ever really happened.

To that end, Michel was barely an after thought catching the football his first two years and started showing that he was capable last year and in training camp this year. I would categorize him as being ABLE to catch passes, but up until now he hasn't been asked to do that very often. He also is excellent in pass protection, so I can definitely see where the Rams might give him more work as a receiver.

(I don't know enough about Henderson to have an opinion on either his receiving or blitz pick up capabilities. But if he's only so-so in both categories, I can see Michel getting a lot more snaps in passing situations . . . and the Rams should pass a lot more than NE would.)
I'm no X's and O's kind of guy, but I think the complementary games of Henderson and Michel provide the offense with lots of unique possibilities, like moving Henderson to the slot, say on third downs - like on this Memphis State highlight.

 
If you added one more season for Henderson they look remarkably similar. I wouldn’t call either of them proven. They’re both injury prone part time backs so far in their careers. Henderson has looked better (to me at least) if you go by eye test. I have each in 2 different leagues so I’m not coming in with any bias, just not sure how you could call either more proven


I would agree neither is proven as a bell cow.  I don't agree the rushing stats other than YPC are similar.

dividing the totals given above by 2 and 3 respectively yields per season values of 

Rushing Yards

Michel 764 DH 386

Rushing TDs

Michel 4.7 DH 2.5

This casts Michel's history as a committee back and DH's history as a relief or cop back.

 
He was a jag his first two years. He was far from a jag last year (unless you think bums put up 5.7 ypc) and has looked fantastic in training camp. He turned the corner last year. He is currently none of the things you just posted. I posted a ton about this today in the Michel thread.
sorry, you are wrong. I've watched him every game, he's a jag...and lost his job last season

 
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I'm no X's and O's kind of guy, but I think the complementary games of Henderson and Michel provide the offense with lots of unique possibilities, like moving Henderson to the slot, say on third downs - like on this Memphis State highlight.
As I have mentioned multiple times today, I can't speak much on Henderson as I may have seen him play a couple of times. That being said, NE was said to have been experimenting with playing Michel on the outside, in the slot, and in motion some this off season. Who knows if that means the Rams might use him that way some, but NE was definitely trying to expand his roles and usefulness.

 
sorry, you are wrong. I've watched him every game, he's a jag
Good thing he isn't going to the Rams with a healthy Marshall Faulk in his prime. Michel isn't an elite talent by any stretch, but the Rams running back cupboard isn't exactly overflowing with All Pro caliber options right now. PFF had Michel ranked in the Top 10 RB in the league last year. If Michel was a JAG, then there only about 6 or 8 really good backs in the league. Michel may be a middle of the road back . . . but that's kind of the point. The Rams didn't even have middle of the road backs as options.

 
As far as Henderson goes, I don't see how this could possibly be a good thing. IMO, Michel takes at least half the RB workload  with LAR. . . and probably more. Michel could easily be the majority ball carrier. IIRC, Henderson has only had one career game with more than 15 carries (and 3 total games with 16+ touches). He had 5 games with 20 carries at Memphis, but he only had a bigger workload as a senior. Not saying he couldn't handle a bigger workload . . . but he certainly hasn't done so (or been asked to do so) at the NFL level. We already know Michel can be a 250 touch RB . . . last year Henderson averaged 10 touches per game. Maybe he gets more than that, but I would expect Michel to get more touches than Henderson.
I'd be surprised if McVay chose to make either guy a bellcow.  If my very short term memory is not failing me the Rams have 473, 401, and 459 rushing attempts the past three years, and Akers, Henderson, and Brown caught 69 passes last season; so using napkin math lets say Michel and Henderson split 420 carries this season (230-190, respectively), and catches 45-25 (admittedly a slightly biased and favorable projection for Henderson). 255 touches Michel, 235 for Henderson.  That sounds about right to me, assuming good health for all. 

I think I'm mostly using this discussion as a thought exercise trying to best determine trade values, as I'm feeling an urge to make some deals now.

 
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