Week 7 marked fantasy football owners’ first glimpse of “life without Kyren Williams.” As predicted, Darrell Henderson ended up being the most valuable piece of the Rams’ new-look backfield.
Henderson ultimately led the team in snaps, rushing attempts, yards, and fantasy points. Despite not playing in over a year, he finished with 14 FPs, good for a PPR RB17 ranking.
Still, a much tougher matchup awaits Henderson and the rest of this Rams’ backfield in the form of the Dallas Cowboys.
Appropriately, fantasy managers are wondering: can you trust Darrell Henderson in Week 8 Fantasy Football? What’s the Rams’ RBs fantasy outlook moving forward?
Let’s dive in:
Rams’ RB Usage in Week 7
Graphic via FantasyLife’s Utilization Hub
Even before the Rams added to their backfield, I was wary of Zach Evans. In fact, I called him Fantasy Fool’s Gold on my Week 7 Waiver Wire Stream.
This turned out to be 100% true, as Evans did not log a single snap, let alone carry, in the teams’ Week 7 loss to the Steelers.
Henderson led the way in all departments. He played 58% of the snaps, saw 60% of the carries, and 38% of routes. Additionally, Henderson was the only RB to log a target (8% share) or Red Zone attempt, which he converted into a TD.
This ultimately provided Henderson 18 carries, 61 yards, and 1 TD. Surprisingly, it was just Henderson’s second time seeing 18 or more rushesin a single-game.
Still, Royce Freeman was involved. The veteran plodder notched 42% of snaps, 22% of routes, and ultimately turned his 12 carries into 66 scoreless yards — outgaining Henderson on fewer attempts.
Clearly, neither inherited the absurd “Kyren Williams” bellcow role — one that’s been even more valuable than Christian McCaffrey:
Myles Gaskin Week 8 Outlook: Could he complicate matters?
Unfortunately, Myles Gaskin could muddy this situation up. Last week, Sean McVay suggested Gaskin could get involved in the Week 8 game plan.
Since then, OC Mike LaFleur praised Gaskin’s familiarity and work ethic, too:
“Coming from Miami, being Minnesota, there’s definitely familiarity with parts of the scheme. Obviously, every single place is going to be different, but he’s coming along comfortably. But you can tell he’s a great dude, a great teammate that’s already been on record. He’s fitting right in and when he gets his opp he’s going to be ready”
We’ll need to monitor the Week 8 Inactives report closely. If this backfield pushes towards a three-headed nightmare, no one would be trustworthy in Week 8 lineups.
Hell, Gaskin might even be the highest upside stash should he be activated.
Gaskin was the RB12 in FPPG just two seasons ago, where he racked up an impressive 972 YFS and 5 TDs in just 10 games, good for 16.8 FPs per contest. Gaskin has 41 and 49 catch seasons and 6 receiving TDs on his resume, highlighting some nice pass-catching chops.
It’s been two seasons since we saw that level of production from Gaskin. Still, he has a higher-upside track-record than anyone else in this ugly running back room.
Darrell Henderson vs. Royce Freeman vs. Myles Gaskin: Week 8 Fantasy Outlooks for Rams RBs
Ultimately, Henderson has to be the favorite to lead the Rams again in snaps, carries, and production. If nothing else, his elite pass protection will keep him fully involved:
Keeping Stafford upright is Priority Number 1 for this backfield. Any production is just icing on the cake. Henderson is the clear top option to do just that.
Even if Gaskin is involved, I expect Henderson to still log 55-60% of the snaps and workload. If anything, Gaskin would likely threaten Royce’s field-time.
Granted, I could see Gaskin outperforming both in efficiency, and becoming a bigger Week 9 thorn. At minimum, though, Henderson can safely be projected for the highest workload within a Top-10 offense right now.
Will that be enough to make Henderson startable in Week 8 Fantasy Football, though? Can you trust him against a tough Cowboys Run Defense?
The Cowboys currently give up the 7th fewest fantasy points to the RB position. This remains the same even when adjusted for strength of schedule, with RBs averaging -2.7 fantasy points off their average against Dallas.
This is the same defense that held Saquon Barkley to 7.8 FPs. Christian McCaffrey to 12.8. Austin Ekeler to 8.2. Rhamondre Stevenson to just 5. Eeeeek.
If nothing else, the Cowboys are far from the top-10 matchup the Steelers presented last week. This has to give fantasy managers pause.
Combined with some volume questions if Gaskin is activated, and Henderson feels like a “bench if you can” type of play. The Rams are top-10 in Red Zone rushing rate, which provides some outs.
If Henderson fails to find the end zone though, I would be shocked if he cracks 8+ FPs. He was very inefficient and didn’t pass the eye ball test besides his protection. I don’t want TD-or-bust options in my lineup if I can avoid it.
Of course, if I’m out on Henderson, that also means I’m out on Royce Freeman and the rest of this backfield. I believe Freeman is droppable, and I would rather roster the 1%-owned Myles Gaskin instead.
To summarize, Henderson and the Rams’ RBs all feel like “sits” in Week 8. Personally, I am playing Tank Dell ahead of Henderson quite easily.
Henderson is just my RB35 (-6 ECR) in my Week 8 Fantasy Football Rankings. He could rise if Gaskin is a healthy-scratch, but Henderson is unlikely to crack my Top-30.
Despite the low ranking, a juicy matchup with Arizona awaits Henderson and the Rams next week. Thus, even if you bench him, hold Henderson for now in hopes that he keeps the clear lead role in-tact for a Top-10 spot in Week 9.
Darrell Henderson Week 9 Fantasy Football Projection: 13 touches (2 rec), 48 yards
