Start or Sit Dion Lewis or Derrick Henry in Fantasy Football Week Two?

dion lewis derrick henry running back sleepers
Start or Sit Dion Lewis or Derrick Henry

In this article we answer the question: should you start or sit Dion Lewis or Derrick Henry in week two as the Titans host the Houston Texans?

The first week of the NFL fantasy football season is in the books, and at this point, you’re either on pace to go undefeated, or more likely, you’re an endless pit of death and despair, wondering why you wasted your time even thinking about fantasy football. After all, John from Accounting auto drafted Tyreek Hill, Alvin Kamara, Patrick Mahomes, and Jared Cook and smashed your thoroughly-researched players you took after countless hours of research and a long offseason. A wasted summer spent on nightly mock drafts instead of tending to your relationships with your loved ones. Whether you won or lost, it’s time to move on from week one and set your lineups for week two. Here at Football Absurdity, we try to help you out with your weekly lineup questions. 

Last week was a strong slap in the face to those among us who did not hedge their Derrick Henry shares with Dion Lewis shares. There was a lot to not like about Henry’s usage, and a ton to like about Dion Lewis’s. First, and the highest level statistic: Derrick Henry had ten carries and one target (eleven opportunities). Lewis, in turn, had sixteen rushes and eight targets. These 24 opportunities put Dion Lewis eighth on the week, and Henry’s eleven opportunities put him fortieth, behind such definitely-not full-time running backs like Latavius Murray, Jalen Richard, Darren Sproles, and Rashaad Penny. The snap counts are even more concerning, as Dion Lewis more-than-doubled up on Henry, playing on 49 snaps to Henry’s 20. That’s… not great for Derrick Henry owners, and a welcome boon for Dion Lewis devotees. Even worse? Despite the increased volume, Lewis averaged nearly two more yards per carry compared to Henry. He had more touches, and he did far more with them.

When choosing to start or site Dion Lewis or Derrick Henry, we have to consider the matchup. The Houston Texans allowed the ninth-fewest fantasy points to running backs last year, so that isn’t a great start to recommending them. However, the type of running back Lewis provides to the Titans is the exact genre of back the Texans whiffed on last year. With the week one performance, Lewis has at least five targets in six of his last eight games. The Texans allowed 9.6 fantasy points per game last season to running backs who had at least five targets against them… including something called a Tommy Bohanon. That bodes well for Henry this game.

Derrick Henry owners must be steaming after the awful splits in snaps and opportunities afforded to Dion Lewis over Derrick Henry. While Henry had a huge run called back by holding, he is ultimately a volume back. He likely will not get the majority of snaps again this weekend, which makes Dion Lewis the smart play. The answer to the question, “should I start or sit Dion Lewis or Derrick Henry?” is a resounding start for Dion Lewis, and sit for Derrick Henry.

For more start or sit advice, check out these:

Start or Sit Ben Roethlisberger 

Start or Sit Matt Ryan

About Jeff Krisko

You can follow me on twitter, @jeffkrisko for the same lukewarm takes you read here.

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