Fantasy Football 2019: No top tier tight end? No problem!
By Joe Metz
Fantasy Football: Hunter Henry | Los Angeles Chargers
Injuries have derailed what could have been a promising start to a young career for Hunter Henry, as he missed the entire 2018 season with a torn ACL, but the stars may finally be aligning for him in 2019 with a healthy off-season and the departure of Antonio Gates.
What really attracts individuals to Henry is his elite level of efficiency in his limited playing time. While he’s only amassed 115 targets throughout his young career, he’s turned that into a catch rate of 70.43%, 1,057 yards and 12 touchdowns (14.81% touchdown rate).
While he doesn’t have a ton to lean on in terms of credibility due to his injuries, the fact that Antonio Gates and Philip Rivers built such strong rapport together should speak volumes to how highly the veteran quarterback values tight ends.
Gates recorded 116 career touchdowns, the most ever by a tight end and routinely operated as a primary red-zone target for Rivers, a responsibility that should rightfully fall unto Henry.
If you combine Henrys uber-efficient numbers through his abbreviated career, Rivers’ knack for relying on the tight end, and the fact that Henry comes in as the #2 overall tight end in terms of strength of schedule according to FantasyPros, you have the making of a potential breakout candidate to target in the 7th-8th round of your drafts.