2022 Fantasy Projections: Derrick Henry Takes Another Shot at 2,000

Titans RB returns from injury looking to regain his rushing title.

The mystique of delivering a second great season after rushing for over 2,000 yards continues with Henry in 2022. He was well on his way to another productive year (1,091 combined yards with 10 touchdowns and 18 catches) over eight starts while still having a shot at 2,000 rushing yards (219/937/10). Unfortunately for Henry, a foot injury put him on the shelf for his final nine games. Tennessee worked Henry early and often, leading to him receiving 29.6 touches per game. He was on pace to catch 38 balls for 327 yards, which would have been career-highs in both areas. The only strike for Henry last year was his drop in yards per rush (4.3) and lower number of big plays (three runs over 20 yards – 16 in 2020).

Fantasy outlook: The two bright lights in Henry’s potential profile this season are Tennessee’s improved willingness to throw the ball to their running backs and his insanely high usage rate. He continues to be a scoring machine (45 touchdowns over his last 39 games) with the potential to land multiple impact games. Henry should see a minimum of 400 touches (his 2021 pace would have been 503 chances with the ball). I’ll start the bidding at 350/1,750/16 with 35 catches for 300 yards and a couple of scores while understanding Henry still has a higher ceiling if he can handle a repeated season in touches. His ADP (6) in the NFFC prices him as the fourth running back selected.