Week 15 fantasy football flops who may have cost a championship

Derrick Henry

Are you really contemplating benching Derrick Henry? I think you have to at least think about it. He is the RB10 on the season, but he was the RB7 just last week. Henry has been driving Fantasy points through sheer willpower. From Week 12 through Week 14, he scored two touchdowns each week, (giving him 10 on the season, fifth in the NFL) averaging 21.2 points/game over that span.

Looking at Henry's body of work with 2023 tells a difficult story. He has rushed over 100 yards only three times. He has rushed under 40 yards six times. Since Week 10, he has had under 20 yards receiving, including -4 yards in Week 10 and 1 yard in Week 15. Except for Week 1, when he doesn't score a touchdown, he doesn't sore over 10 points. In fact, he usually scores under 6.

He probably cost you a first or second round pick, but the eye test doesn't look good either. He looks slow after getting the ball and he is not breaking as many tackles as we expect. According to NextGen Stats, he is hit behind the line of scrimmage on 50% of his touches. This week was an unmitigated disaster, rushing 16 times for 9 yards (-23 over expected), and catching four passes for 1 yard. He seemed to be going backwards most of the game.

Next week is the Seattle Seahawks who give up the fifth most Fantasy points to running backs. They are middle of the pack in running back yards on the season, but they give up the second most touchdowns. It seems like a great matchup for Henry who is fairly touchdown dependent. The numbers don't necessarily justify it, but Henry could be a Blip with a rebound in Week 16.