What do we make of Derrick Henry and Dion Lewis? According to the ADP site “Fantasy Football Calculator”, Henry is currently being picked at 3.02 (in 12-team leagues), while Lewis is down at 6.02. But offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur earlier in the offseason said he considers them “1A and 1B”.
Terry McCormick, a writer for Titan Insider, says he believes Henry will lead the team in rushing but that Lewis might finish with more total yards.
Henry isn’t much of a pass catcher, while Lewis is really good in that capacity. If not for James White, the Patriots probably would have turned Lewis into one of the best third-down backs in the league.
“The arrival of Lewis from New England gives the Titans the type of pass-catching weapon in the backfield that they have not had in a long time, “ McCormick writes. “And it means that there will likely be game-day packages for each back, and that both will get their fair share of touches.”
Looking into this a few months back, I noticed that Lewis was unusually good statistically as a pass catcher. He caught 32 of the 35 passes thrown his way last year. That’s the best by any running back in the last four years. Some of that can be attributed to playing with Tom Brady, but Lewis is a capable pass catcher. So when you look at combined rushing/receiving yards, I think it’s very much up in the air whether Henry or Lewis will come out on top.
Consider the offensive coordinator. Matt LaFleur has spent the last three years working under Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay. Those are both coaches who are big believers in using running backs in the passing game.
Crazy, in my opinion, that Henry is being selected three rounds sooner in typical drafts.
| CATCH RATES FOR RUNNING BACKS | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Tgt | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | Pct |
| Dion Lewis, N.E. | 35 | 32 | 214 | 6.7 | 3 | 91.4% |
| Joe Mixon, Cin. | 34 | 30 | 287 | 9.6 | 0 | 88.2% |
| Danny Woodhead, Balt. | 39 | 33 | 200 | 6.1 | 0 | 84.6% |
| Kareem Hunt, K.C. | 63 | 53 | 455 | 8.6 | 3 | 84.1% |
| Rex Burkhead, N.E. | 36 | 30 | 254 | 8.5 | 3 | 83.3% |
| Shane Vereen, NYG | 53 | 44 | 253 | 5.8 | 0 | 83.0% |
| DeMarco Murray, Tenn. | 47 | 39 | 266 | 6.8 | 1 | 83.0% |
| Matt Forte, NYJ | 45 | 37 | 293 | 7.9 | 1 | 82.2% |
| Mark Ingram, N.O. | 71 | 58 | 416 | 7.2 | 0 | 81.7% |
| Alvin Kamara, N.O. | 100 | 81 | 826 | 10.2 | 5 | 81.0% |
| LeVeon Bell, Pitt. | 106 | 85 | 655 | 7.7 | 2 | 80.2% |
| Lamar Miller, Hou. | 45 | 36 | 327 | 9.1 | 3 | 80.0% |
| Duke Johnson, Clev. | 93 | 74 | 693 | 9.4 | 3 | 79.6% |
| Charcandrick West, K.C. | 34 | 27 | 150 | 5.6 | 2 | 79.4% |
| Devontae Booker, Den. | 38 | 30 | 275 | 9.2 | 0 | 78.9% |
| Kyle Juszczyk, S.F. | 42 | 33 | 315 | 9.5 | 1 | 78.6% |
| James White, N.E. | 72 | 56 | 429 | 7.7 | 3 | 77.8% |
| Austin Ekeler, LAC | 35 | 27 | 279 | 10.3 | 3 | 77.1% |
| Javorius Allen, Balt. | 60 | 46 | 250 | 5.4 | 2 | 76.7% |
| LeSean McCoy, Buff. | 77 | 59 | 448 | 7.6 | 2 | 76.6% |
| Devonta Freeman, Atl. | 47 | 36 | 317 | 8.8 | 1 | 76.6% |
| Frank Gore, Ind. | 38 | 29 | 245 | 8.4 | 1 | 76.3% |
| DeAndre Washington, Oak. | 45 | 34 | 197 | 5.8 | 1 | 75.6% |
| Jerick McKinnon, Minn. | 68 | 51 | 421 | 8.3 | 2 | 75.0% |
| Leonard Fournette, Jac. | 48 | 36 | 302 | 8.4 | 1 | 75.0% |
| Jalen Richard, Oak. | 36 | 27 | 256 | 9.5 | 1 | 75.0% |
| Tarik Cohen, Chi. | 71 | 53 | 353 | 6.7 | 1 | 74.6% |
| Theo Riddick, Det. | 71 | 53 | 444 | 8.4 | 2 | 74.6% |
| Charles Sims, T.B. | 47 | 35 | 249 | 7.1 | 1 | 74.5% |
| Ty Montgomery, G.B. | 31 | 23 | 173 | 7.5 | 1 | 74.2% |
| J.D. McKissic, Sea. | 46 | 34 | 266 | 7.8 | 2 | 73.9% |
| Todd Gurley, LAR | 87 | 64 | 788 | 12.3 | 6 | 73.6% |
| Jamaal Williams, G.B. | 34 | 25 | 262 | 10.5 | 2 | 73.5% |
| T.J. Yeldon, Jac. | 41 | 30 | 224 | 7.5 | 0 | 73.2% |
| Chris Thompson, Wash. | 54 | 39 | 510 | 13.1 | 4 | 72.2% |
| Jordan Howard, Chi. | 32 | 23 | 125 | 5.4 | 0 | 71.9% |
| Giovani Bernard, Cin. | 60 | 43 | 389 | 9.0 | 2 | 71.7% |
| Ameer Abdullah, Det. | 35 | 25 | 162 | 6.5 | 1 | 71.4% |
| Wayne Gallman, NYG | 48 | 34 | 193 | 5.7 | 1 | 70.8% |
| Christian McCaffrey, Car. | 113 | 80 | 651 | 8.1 | 5 | 70.8% |
| Jay Ajayi, 2 tm | 34 | 24 | 158 | 6.6 | 1 | 70.6% |
| C.J. Anderson, Den. | 40 | 28 | 224 | 8.0 | 1 | 70.0% |
| Melvin Gordon, LAC | 83 | 58 | 476 | 8.2 | 4 | 69.9% |
| Bilal Powell, NYJ | 33 | 23 | 170 | 7.4 | 0 | 69.7% |
| Tevin Coleman, Atl. | 39 | 27 | 299 | 11.1 | 3 | 69.2% |
| Ezekiel Elliott, Dall. | 38 | 26 | 269 | 10.3 | 2 | 68.4% |
| Carlos Hyde, S.F. | 88 | 59 | 350 | 5.9 | 0 | 67.0% |
| Kenyan Drake, Mia. | 48 | 32 | 239 | 7.5 | 1 | 66.7% |
| Isaiah Crowell, Clev. | 42 | 28 | 182 | 6.5 | 0 | 66.7% |
| Andre Ellington, 2 tm | 59 | 39 | 369 | 9.5 | 0 | 66.1% |
| Marshawn Lynch, Oak. | 31 | 20 | 151 | 7.6 | 0 | 64.5% |
| Alex Collins, Balt. | 36 | 23 | 187 | 8.1 | 0 | 63.9% |
| Marlon Mack, Ind. | 33 | 21 | 225 | 10.7 | 1 | 63.6% |
| Matt Breida, S.F. | 36 | 21 | 180 | 8.6 | 1 | 58.3% |
—Ian Allan