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Derrick Henry’s fantasy stock skyrockets after Week 1 performance

By Michael Moraitis

CLEVELAND, OH - SEPTEMBER 08: Derrick Henry #22 of the Tennessee Titans outruns Morgan Burnett #42 of the Cleveland Browns and Myles Garrett #95 of the Cleveland Browns for a 75-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter at FirstEnergy Stadium on September 08, 2019 in Cleveland, Ohio . (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH - SEPTEMBER 08: Derrick Henry #22 of the Tennessee Titans outruns Morgan Burnett #42 of the Cleveland Browns and Myles Garrett #95 of the Cleveland Browns for a 75-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter at FirstEnergy Stadium on September 08, 2019 in Cleveland, Ohio . (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images) /
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Derrick Henry’s fantasy football stock is sky-high after his Week 1 performance during the Tennessee Titans’ win over the Cleveland Browns.

As if we couldn’t be any higher on Derrick Henry’s fantasy football stock in 2019, the Tennessee Titans running back gave us even more reason to be optimistic for a huge season in 2019.

Henry carried the ball 19 times for 84 yards (4.4 yards per carry) and scored once on the ground. He also added one catch for 75 yards and another score. Those numbers were good enough for 28.9 points in PPR leagues.

Unlike the Browns hype, the Henry hype is now real.

Why the hype is now real

To put his sensational performance into perspective, it took Henry 12 games to produce that kind of fantasy output last season. The fact that he’s already making such an impact is a great sign.

Another reason for optimism is that Henry dominated the carries for the Titans, which also took far too long to happen last season. He got 19 totes to Lewis’ three, and there’s no longer any doubt that the Titans are going to give Henry a full workload for the entire season.

He got involved in the passing game with two targets, and took one of those targets to the house on a 75-yard catch-and-run that was aided by great blocking from his teammates. After that play, the Titans would be crazy not to give him more passing game opportunities.

https://twitter.com/Titans/status/1170780786187886597?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1170780786187886597&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftitansized.com%2F2019%2F09%2F08%2Fderrick-henry-75-yard-td-reception%2F

There were some questions about the Titans’ offensive line prior to this game, with left tackle Taylor Lewan suspended and right guard Kevin Pamphile hurt. However, the Titans O-line held up just fine and Henry had lanes to run through as the game went on. He’ll be fine running behind this group until Lewan returns in Week 5.

Last but not least, game script should rarely be out of Henry’s favor. Tennessee’s defense will be one of the best in the league in 2019, which means the Titans will not be chasing points. That’s good news just in case Henry doesn’t get more involvement in the passing game.

Henry should now be classified as a must-start running back on a weekly basis until he proves otherwise. Not only could he put up RB1 numbers, he also has the potential to be the best fantasy running back this season.

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