Several fantasy football manager’s playoff hopes could come down to running backs Derrick Henry and Saquon Barkley, as both players have matchups in the Monday Night Football doubleheader in Week 14 — the final week before fantasy playoffs in most leagues.
Between the two standout running backs, is either one of them worth starting?
Should You Start Derrick Henry in Fantasy This Week?
The Tennessee Titans star is coming off arguably his best game of the season, a 102-yard, two-touchdown performance against the Indianapolis Colts. Henry was forced to leave early in the game due to injury, but he was the best player on the field before departing. The 29-year-old finished with a season-high 25.0 PPR points, an outing good for the RB4 overall in Week 13.
Despite leaving this past Sunday’s game early due to concussion protocol, Henry did not suffer a concussion and has no injury designation on the Titans’ injury report entering Monday’s game. Henry has turned in two of his best games this season in consecutive weeks and will look to continue that Monday evening against Miami.
The Dolphins’ run defense has been strong this season; Miami is currently allowing the ninth-fewest rushing yards per game. However, Miami does lack size in their interior defensive line, which could benefit Henry’s powerful running style.
Henry’s fantasy matchup isn’t exactly the best, as Miami is allowing just the sixth-fewest fantasy points to running backs this season. For what it’s worth, neither of Washington’s running backs were able to muster much of anything against the Dolphins’ defense last week. Henry is a much better back than either Brian Robinson Jr. or Antonio Gibson, but it’s still no guarantee he’ll perform against a good Miami rush defense.
Historically, Henry has been one of the best fantasy running backs towards the end of the season. And despite a slow, inconsistent start to the season, Henry has shown signs of his former self over the past few games. If the Titans are going to stay in this game, they’ll need to control time of possession to keep Miami’s explosive offense off the field. The best way to do that is by handing Henry the rock over and over again.
Start Henry with confidence this week and don’t look back.
Should You Start Saquon Barkley in Fantasy This Week?
Coming off a late Week 13 bye, Barkley should be well-rested ahead of Monday night’s game against the all-of-a-sudden-surging Green Bay Packers. Although the Packers have been playing good football as of late, they remain a good matchup for opposing running backs in fantasy football.
Green Bay is currently allowing the 10th-most fantasy points to running backs this season; Kansas City’s Isiah Pacheco just ran for over 100 yards and a touchdown (21.3 PPR points) against this group last week. The week before, the Lions’ tandem of David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs finished with over 120 rushing yards combined and a score on the ground as well.
Barkley has been up-and-down of late, largely due to the New York Giants’ overall offensive struggles and poor quarterback play. The former Penn State star has finished with single-digit fantasy points in two of his last three games, in each of which Tommy DeVito was under center for the Giants.
DeVito remains New York’s QB1 after the bye, despite that original backup Tyrod Taylor is healthy again. Regardless of who’s under center for Big Blue, they’ll need to feature Barkley heavily to pull off the upset over Green Bay. Barkley remains an RB1 entering Monday’s game; fantasy managers should expect a big performance from their star runner.
Should You Start Either Henry or Barkley in Fantasy This Week?
In the Pro Football Network Start/Sit Optimizer, PFN’s Consensus Rankings say that Barkley is the player to start. His projected 13.0 PPR points include a projection of 53 rushing yards, 3.4 receptions, and 19.7 receiving yards. Barkley’s projection slightly outperforms Henry’s projection of 51.4 rushing yards, 1.4 receptions, and 17.4 receiving yards (11.0 points).
I agree with PFN’s rankings that Barkley is the better start between the two players this week, largely due to his matchup being a much better one. However, Henry has been playing his best football of the season and should continue to have a large role in Tennessee’s offense. Barkley is the player I’d start between the two, but both running backs are more than worthy of being in fantasy lineups in Week 14.
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