Things took a bad turn for TreVeyon Henderson ($5,400) in Week 2. The rookie struggled in pass protection and committed three holding penalties vs. the Dolphins, resulting in Henderson seeing very little work. The back only rushed three times for 10 yards while logging just 31.7% of the snaps and as a receiver, Henderson caught both of his targets for 30 yards, but he only ran a route on 35% of his team’s dropbacks and was only targeted on 18% of those routes.
Henderson only finished with 6 FPTS, while Rhamondre Stevenson ($5,300) took full advantage of Henderson playing a small role and went off for 21.2 FPTS.
Stevenson rushed 11 times for 54 yards while logging 65% of the snaps and he caught all five of his targets for 88 yards. Stevenson handled 57.9% of the Patriots’ running back carries – including two red-zone rushes – and he saw a target on 33% of his routes while running a route on 48% of his team’s dropbacks.
The Patriots next face the Steelers this Sunday and Pittsburgh has struggled to contain running backs this season, giving up the second-most rushing yards to the position (249). Either Stevenson or Henderson is going to have a productive fantasy day in this spot and after last week’s usage, you have to give the edge to Stevenson this week.
After producing in a big way in New England’s first win of the season last week, Stevenson should have his coach’s trust and he should lead the way once again for this Patriots backfield with 15-20 touches. Stevenson has scored 17+ FPTS in six of his 16 games over the last two seasons and he is a solid RB3/FLEX play for season-long leagues, and he also has merit for GPPs in DFS at only $5,300.
