We’re diving into the outlook for Derrick Henry fantasy managers and the same for Josh Jacobs fantasy football managers. Who is the better player in Week 6 if you’re lucky enough to roster both? Let’s dive into them, starting with Henry.
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Derrick Henry’s Fantasy Outlook This Week
Derrick Henry has been a roller coaster ride for fantasy managers to start 2023. He does have three top-15 finishes through five weeks. His biggest issue is tied to the overall team’s success and his newest teammate.
Tyjae Spears has played more than 50% of snaps in four of five games and is the preferred passing down back of the Titans. When Tennessee falls behind, this makes Spears a thorn in the side of Henry’s fantasy prospects. Week 5 even saw Spears finish in the top-10 RBs for the first time.
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This week, the Titans play the Ravens (in London, set lineups early!), who are a slightly above-average run defense vs fantasy RBs. One thing to note on the Ravens: They’re one of just five teams yet to allow a rushing TD on the season. Though Baltimore has seen the fourth-fewest red-zone RB touches against.
The Titans should push this total up if the game script is close, as they run it over 58% of the time. Henry is the preferred option on the ground as their inside grinder. He should be able to get 18 rushes. Henry has needed to find the end zone, as he only has 100+ rush yards in a single game this year – more of a risky backend RB1 or high RB2.
Josh Jacobs’ Fantasy Outlook This Week
While Henry is losing plays to a teammate, Josh Jacobs has continued his bell-cow role. Jacobs has played at least 70% of snaps in every game (Henry has one such game), and three of his five are over 80%. After an inefficient first couple of weeks for Jacobs, Jacobs has started to find his stride in the last two games.
Jacobs’s ability to do it all for the Raiders allows him to have a safe floor and high ceiling. Jacobs has over 17 carries in all but one game. He also has five or more targets in all but one game. A player with at least 22 opportunities in 80% of games at the RB position is a near lock to produce at an extremely high level.
MORE: Week 6 Fantasy Cheat Sheet
This week, the Raiders host the reeling Patriots, which makes this a difficult game to anticipate. Typically, the Patriots will come out angry and beat up on a struggling defense off a blowout, but this team didn’t do that last week, so what’s changed?
This Patriots team allows the 11th-most fantasy points to RBs on the year. One area they’ve struggled is in the red zone. The Patriots have been decent on yardage and vs receiving backs, but they’ve allowed five TDs on the ground, fourth-most on the year. Jacobs has scored back-to-back weeks now and looks likely to make it three straight.
Which RB Should You Start?
If you’re lucky enough to roster either of these RBs, the likely answer is to start them. If you have both, the best answer is to likely start both. Which player is the better start between them?
That’s Josh Jacobs pretty easily. This isn’t the scary matchup that you think of with New England. Henry has a matchup that, while it could go well, has a lot more downside, especially with Spears as a viable passing game option. Jacobs’s role is matchup-proof and is locked and loaded as a top-eight type option with RB1 overall upside.