If the thought of saddling up a 6’3″, 250 lbs workhorse gets your fantasy football juices flowing, congrats! Titans RB Derrick Henry is set to finally, truly be featured for all of 2019.
Despite his painfully slow start to 2018, Henry was the best back in football over the final four weeks (apparently due to some motivation from Eddie George). Over that span, the monster bulldozed defenders for 625 yards and 7 TDs, averaging a league-best 31.3 FPs per game during the fantasy playoffs. Unsurprisingly, this stellar play has earned him a featured role as the centerpiece for new OC Arthur Smith’s run-heavy attack.
“Derrick will be a big part of the offense,” Smith said. “He has a rare skill set. Derrick’s a home-run hitter. We are taking another step hopefully with him. What he did over the last five weeks will open up a lot of things.”
When describing his planned scheme, Smith –a former lineman and longtime tight end coach– promised a “physical,” grind-it-out style of attack. Moreover, he stressed the importance of maintaining continuity with Matt LaFleur‘s run-obsessed, zone-heavy offense: “Zone is a great starting point for us, but there are a lot of schemes that fit Derrick… Gaps, pin and pulls, zone read…there’s a certain mentality that we want to play with coming off the football. We want to be physical and knock people back.”
Who better to accomplish this style than a human steamroller? One with equal measurables to Von Miller?
HC Mike Vrabel certainly agrees, and will give Henry every opportunity to re-establish dominance to begin 2019:
“I would say that if he started off 2019 like he ended 2018, I think that would be great,” Vrabel said. “That would be unbelievable for everybody.”
Yes, Henry’s usage spike is well-deserved and seemingly obvious. Still, his career mismanagement had to create at least some doubt on his 2019 status. Thankfully, those fears should now be buried.
