DarrellHenderson Jr.

News: 2 days agoHenderson rushed 10 times for 19 yards during Sunday's 23-20 loss to San Francisco.

Spin: The sophomore's fantasy day could have been somewhat saved if quarterback Jared Goff hadn't overthrown Henderson on a would-be touchdown in the third quarter. Instead, Henderson has now been limited in consecutive games with just 24 rushing yards on 18 carries and four receiving yards on two receptions. Making matters worse, the Rams continued their commitment to utilizing three running backs. Rookie Cam Akers was the most explosive runner Sunday with 84 yards and a touchdown, whereas veteran Malcolm Brown led the backfield in offensive snaps with 25. It's all adding up to Henderson's value trending in the wrong direction.

ESPN Fantasy Projection: Henderson will get a shot at earning lead-back duties in the Rams' backfield this season following the release of Todd Gurley. Henderson was initially expected to play a significant change-of-pace role behind Gurley last season but instead was limited to 39 carries and six targets on 89 snaps. The Rams selected Henderson in the third round of the 2019 draft after he averaged 8.9 YPC (seriously!) on 344 carries during his final two seasons at Memphis. Henderson has tremendous upside as a rusher, and his passing-down chops make him a candidate for weekly PPR value, but he'll be hard-pressed to separate himself from rookie Cam Akers (and perhaps Malcolm Brown) as the team's clear feature back. Nonetheless, Henderson is a second-year breakout candidate and borderline flex option.