If you’ve seen my latest rankings for XN Sports you’ll notice that Chad Henne is at QB19 for the week. That might seem high to you, and whether you play in a 10 or 12-team 2-QB league, I have Henne ranked as a viable starting fantasy quarterback option for the week.
That might come as a surprise to some, but there are some 2-QB owners playing the QB2 by committee streaming game, and they have to consider all the options available to them. Even starting the quarterback of the Jacksonville Jaguars.
If you’re in desperate need of a QB2 in Week 2, and Henne happens to be sitting on the waiver wire, now would be a good time to scoop him up, and insert him into the starting line-up of your 2-QB fantasy football team.
The main reason why I’m “high” on Henne for the week is his match-up against the Oakland Raiders.
The assumption last week was that the Oakland Raiders would get trampled by Andrew Luck and company, and for the beginning part of that particular game, they did. Luck started the game without throwing an incompletion in his first 11 pass attempts, and finished the day with 178 passing yards and two passing touchdowns, on 18-of-23 pass attempts. Luck also tacked on 38 yards rushing and a touchdown on 6 rushing attempts. Good for Week 1’s QB5, in standard scoring leagues.
Can we realistically lump Chad Henne in the same group as Andrew Luck? No, of course not. But we can say that Henne has a chance to at least put up QB2 numbers versus the Raiders’ defense this week.
Last week, the starting QB2 floor of a 12-team 2-QB league was Geno Smith, who put 14.94 fantasy points, finishing as QB24 in standard scoring leagues. In 10-team leagues, QB20 was EJ Manuel, with 16.3 fantasy points.
Did either of those two have great statistical days?
- Manuel was 18 of 27, for 150 passing yards, two passing touchdowns, zero interceptions, and 23 yards rushing.
- Smith went 24 of 38, for 256 passing yards, one passing touchdown, one interception, and 47 yards rushing.
Both Manuel and Smith put up adequate numbers, but they were enough to finish the week as QB2s, in some 2-QB leagues.
During Henne’s stint as the starting quarterback in Jacksonville last season for 7 games, he bested Smith’s Week 1 fantasy production three times, and outscored EJ’s production twice.
The Raiders gave up 24.92 fantasy points to Luck in Week 1, and last year they gave up the 8th most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks, at an average mark of 18.34 fantasy points per game. In Week 1, 18.34 fantasy points would have equaled QB16.
According to a tweet by 4for4.com’s John Paulsen, in Henne’s seven game starting quarterback stint last year, he averaged 267 yards passing, to go along with 1.4 passing touchdowns, and 1.4 interceptions. Henne also averaged 8.3 rushing yards. In standard scoring leagues that’s would equate to 15.11 fantasy points. Not quite enough to push himself over Manuel’s Week 1 fantasy numbers, but enough to outscore Smith.
There’s obvious risk involved starting a quarterback like Henne, who did put up some clunkers in his seven games last year as a starting quarterback. Pedestrian numbers against the Raiders, in relief of Gabbert in Week 7 last year, being one such example. He also doesn’t have the services of suspended Justin Blackmon this week.
There is some upside with Henne though, and one positive was how he came out blazing with a 350+ passing yard day, to go along with 4 passing touchdowns against the Texans in Week 11 last year. If you’re starting Henne this week, you’re doing so because you have no other options. Looking at the numbers, you can at least pump yourself up a bit, hoping that a QB2 fantasy performance is a possibility.
*Stats used in this article from FantasyData.com, and 4for4.com.
