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Fantasy Football: Derrick Henry could be in for a big week with A.J. Brown out

By Brad Berreman

NASHVILLE, TN - NOVEMBER 24: Derrick Henry #22 of the Tennessee Titans runs the ball and avoids the tackle from Jarrod Wilson #26 of the Jacksonville Jaguars at Nissan Stadium on November 24, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans defeated the Jaguars 42-20. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TN - NOVEMBER 24: Derrick Henry #22 of the Tennessee Titans runs the ball and avoids the tackle from Jarrod Wilson #26 of the Jacksonville Jaguars at Nissan Stadium on November 24, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans defeated the Jaguars 42-20. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) /
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Titans wide receiver A.J. Brown will miss Sunday’s game, which lines up Derrick Henry (and Corey Davis) to eat for their fantasy managers.

With a report he might miss multiple games, with a bone bruise in his knee, it was a formality that Tennessee Titans wide receiver A.J. Brown would be declared out for Week 2. On Friday, head coach Mike Vrabel indeed said Brown is out for Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Derrick Henry led the NFL in rushing last year (1,540 yards), on a league-most 303 carries.  In Week 1  that volume continued, with 31 carries on his way to 116 yards against the Denver Broncos. That is third-most carries he has ever had in a regular season game, and Vrabel has said there will be no “pitch count” for Henry.

“We felt like that’s where Derrick was at physically, condition-wise,” “That (number) may change each and every week but Derrick is not going to be on any pitch count. He gets himself in great condition and he understands the responsibility he has to the team to be able to sometimes carry it as many times as he did on Monday night.”

Derrick Henry really eats at home against the Jaguars

Henry has a great history again the Jaguars at home, where Sunday’s game will be. In Week 12 last year he had 159 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries against them, and highlighted by a 99-yard touchdown run in 2018 Henry had 238 yards and four touchdowns against Jacksonville at Nissan Stadium. In four home games against the Jaguars, Henry has averaged 6.4 yards per carry (3.9 yards per carry on the road against them).

Simply put, the likelihood of a positive game script for the Titans in Sunday lines Henry up for 25 carries. Do the math, and he’ll top 100 yards with room to spare and he’s a good bet to score,

Corey Davis tied Brown for the team lead with eight targets in Week 1, and he had seven receptions for 101 yards. An injury of his own (hamstring) appears to be in the rearview mirror, ahead of a great matchup. Davis is also widely available (19.4 percent owned in ESPN leagues; 25 percent owned in Yahoo! leagues).

On the radar in deeper leagues with Brown out in Week 2 (or beyond), with a total toward PPR, is Adam Humphries, who had six catches on seven targets in Week 1.

Tight end Jonnu Smith had four catches (on seven targets) for 36 yards and a touchdown in Week 1, and is in line for a bump for however long Brown is out. He is somehow available in over 70 percent of ESPN leagues (29.3 percent owned), and he’s 64 percent owned on Yahoo!.

Brown’s fantasy owners will have to find a fill-in for in Week 2, and maybe longer. But Henry is in line to cash in big for his owners this week, while the stock of Davis, Smith and a lesser degree Humphries is rising.

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