The Patriots once again have been a two-man backfield committee between Rhamondre Stevenson ($5,500) and TreVeyon Henderson ($5,000) this season. However, Stevenson suffered a leg injury late during last Sunday’s win over the Bills and did not practice Wednesday.
Mike Vrabel told the media “there’s a chance he’ll play,” when asked about Stevenson, but nevertheless, the back missing practice Wednesday doesn’t bode well for his chances of suiting up Sunday vs. the Raiders.
If Stevenson is out, how valuable will Henderson be for fantasy football owners?
TreVeyon Henderson Week 5 Fantasy Outlook
Henderson and Stevenson have been splitting the work pretty evenly this season. Henderson missed Week 1, but with both backs active for the last three games, Henderson is out-carrying Stevenson 38-26. Meanwhile, Stevenson has held the edge in the passing game, seeing nine targets on 52 routes, compared to two targets on 35 routes for Henderson.
Third string back Corey Kiner ($4,000) has seen little work this season, playing just 22 snaps, and if Stevenson is unable to play this weekend, Henderson should take on a featured role and be an elite fantasy option.
Stevenson missed three straight games last season and Henderson was awesome in those opportunities, scoring 12.7 FPTS, 31.0 FPTS and 32.3 FPTS, respectively, making him the fifth-highest scoring skill player for fantasy during this stretch. In these games, Henderson averaged 15.7 carries per game on an 82.4% snap rate. The Ohio State product handled 71.2% of the running back carries for the Patriots, including 12 red zone attempts. As a receiver, Henderson ran a route on 70% of his team’s drop backs and he commanded a target on 14% of those routes.
Henderson has been less effective as a rusher this season, averaging 3.7 yards per carry after averaging 5.1 last season, but he would be in line for around 20 touches if Stevenson is out this Sunday vs. the Raiders. This matchup is compelling, too, as Las Vegas is giving up the second-most yards per rush this season (5.2).
Opponents have the eighth-best rushing success rate in the league when facing the Raiders, and they are yielding rushes of 10+ yard at the third-highest clip. That is terrific news for a big play back like Henderson — he has 22 rushes of 10+ yards the last two seasons.
Just this past Sunday, Kenneth Walker exposed the Raiders for 177 yards, two scores and 33.9 FPTS. Henderson likely won’t erupt to that level, but he will bring big huge upside if Stevenson is inactive and will be a must-play for all formats, especially for DFS on DraftKings, where Henderson costs only $5,000.
