Derrick Henry’s rising (and controversial) fantasy outlook hit a speed-bump on Wednesday afternoon when Taylor Lewan announced he would be suspended four games for violating the league’s substance-abuse policy. Lewan, Pro Football Focus’ highest-rated tackle in the AFC South, claims he passed a polygraph that should prove his innocence. However, Roger Goodell doesn’t give a shit about a little polygraph test. Marcus Mariota and Derrick Henry will be without their road-grader at left tackle for the opener against the Browns, then games against the Colts, Jaguars and Falcons — some of the top front-sevens in the league.
Although Lewan is one of the best tackles in the league, the Titans still have a very solid offensive line. They added PFF’s fifth-highest run blocker in Roger Saffold and Dennis Kelly is a fine replacement for Lewan at left tackle. Still, missing Lewan is a killer loss for both the Titans pass and especially their run game. When watching Henry’s tape of his monster finale to the season, highlighted by his obscene 99-yard run, the majority of his big plays and scores came to the left side behind his beefy left tackle.
With the news of this suspension, there could be a slow start on tap for the ever-inconsistent Henry. The Wolf currently has Henry at No. 23 overall, a whopping +17 vs the ECR. Will this news force Wolf to drop Henry below the likes of Marlon Mack or Aaron Jones? Stay tuned.
