Derrick Henry Injury: What This Means For Fantasy Football Owners

If you have Derrick Henry on your fantasy football team, it means you exhausted a first-round pick on him.

And much like what Christian McCaffrey owners have gone through this season (and last, for that matter), you’ve now got to figure out how to proceed without one of the premier players at the position.

Henry’s season reportedly is in jeopardy after he broke a bone in his foot, which could keep him out roughly eight weeks. That makes a return possible, although highly unlikely, for the final rounds of the fantasy football playoffs.

But if he does end up missing significant time, you’re going to have to act fast and be prepared to get creative.

Our first word of advice is this: Do not, under any circumstances, drop Henry until it is confirmed he’s out for the season. The last thing you would want to do is drop him when it looks like he’s done for the year, only for him to recover quickly and be back in time for Week 15, at which point he could get snatched up by somebody else.

The simplest, and most logical move, is to look at what the Titans’ other options are at the position. And, we’ll be honest, it’s not much. Few teams lean on a singular running back quite the way the Titans do with Henry, so unless you’re a Tennessee fan, there’s a good chance you’ve never even heard of their backup.

It’s Jeremy McNichols, by the way.

McNichols predominantly is a pass-catching back, which might make him worth the flier. It seems unlikely he would get a huge number of carries, but the fact that he’s a pass-catcher actually does hold particular value. The Titans offense going forward likely will have no choice but to be super pass-heavy, and McNichols becoming the lead back with his calling card being his receiving ability could shape him up to be a worthwhile fantasy add. The move would be trying to claim him on waivers and stashing him on the bench for at least a week to see how the Titans use him.

Unless you are loaded at the running back position, it makes sense to trade for a running back from a position of depth to try to offset the lost production of Henry. If you have a solid backup tight end, maybe you move him for a mid-tier back, or a move like that. Losing Henry is such a gut punch, that you might have to make a move you’re a little uncomfortable with so that your running back slots aren’t a complete black hole.

The final move would be picking up Ryan Tannehill if your quarterback situation is shaky. He’s rostered in many leagues (86% of Yahoo! leagues, to be specific), but there’s a good chance he’s a backup on a lot of fantasy rosters. If you can’t get him on the wire, perhaps there’s a low-risk trade you could swing for him, especially since he’s a productive fantasy player in an offense that now figures to feature even more passing. It doesn’t fix your running back issue, but increased production from Tannehill could help soften the blow of poor running back play.

Look, this is an imperfect situation, and one that’s requires some creativity. But desperate times call for desperate measures, and these are, without question, desperate times for Henry fantasy owners.