With the devastating injury to Cam Akers, Henderson sits atop a barebones LA Rams RB depth chart, and considering his current ADP, he has massive upside in this year's drafts.

Check out my video going over Darrell Henderson's 2020 game film, detailing the context of the Rams backfield last season, and providing analysis for his 2021 fantasy outlook: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ne0vXmDkZ_Q&t=38s

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Darrell Henderson is currently being drafted between the 4th-5th rounds. Considering that Cam Akers was pushing up into the back end of the 1st round prior to his injury, that would suggest that there is a massive skill gap between the two RBs. I'm going to stake my claim that this is overblown, and Henderson's potential is being underrated by the fantasy community. Keep in mind that Akers held that lofty ADP even while we weren't sure how much of his workload he would be ceding to his backups. Now that Henderson is the only rostered Rams RB with more than 0 NFL offensive snaps, we can be confident that there will definitely be a Rams RB commanding a dominant share of the snaps.

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All 3 of Henderson's backups are 7th round draft picks who have yet to log a single offensive snap in the NFL (one rookie, two 2nd-year players). While they will definitely get some touches, let's not pretend that we're actually excited about Jake Funk and two kick returners. Malcolm Brown has taken his pesky goal-line vulture talents to South Beach, so the door is wide open for the Rams to sign a veteran RB. If/when they do so, I'll still love Henderson's upside, as Brown mainly served as a pass-protector in the backfield, and logged tons of snaps in which that was his only purpose. If/when the Rams do end up signing a Frank Gore / Adrian Peterson / Le'Veon Bell, I wouldn't view them as an enticing fantasy asset. They would likely be coming in to give the lead back a breather, bringing veteran leadership to a very green RB room, as well as shoring up the pass-protection for the shiny new Rams QB.

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The QB switch from Jared Goff to Matthew Stafford cannot be overstated. This is very helpful for Henderson, a quick, shifty back with great hands and a knack for beating LBs on swings and screens, as well as on legitimate wide receiver routes. Stafford will target his RBs way more than Goff ever did, and they will be higher quality throws for that matter. Goff rarely targeted his RBs (fewest RB targets in the league in 2019, 3rd-fewest in 2020), while Stafford has consistently been one of the league-leaders in terms of targets to his RBs. Removing both of his injury-shortened seasons, Stafford has thrown 100 targets to his RBs in every season of his career.

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Apart from the upgrade at QB, and the removal of all RB competition, the rest of the Rams offense returns intact in 2021. HC Sean McVay and OC Kevin O'Connell are returning, as are 4-of-5 starters on the offensive line. That offensive line was graded out to be the 3rd-best in the league by Pro Football Focus, and they helped pave the way for top-10 finishes in rushing attempts, rushing yards, and rushing touchdowns in 2020.

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Henderson has flown under the radar in his first 2 NFL seasons, and Cam Akers has become a household name due to exploding in primetime games this past late-season / postseason. This has led to many overstating the difference in potential that the 2 RBs have in this offense. Henderson was drafted in the early 3rd round, and Akers was drafted with comparable draft capital, in the late 2nd. During Henderson's rookie season, Todd Gurley was in the final year of his contract with the Rams, so Henderson filled the #3 role behind Gurley and Malcolm Brown. In 2020, the Rams added Akers so that they could employ a committee in the backfield for their playoff push. This didn't work out as intended, as Malcolm Brown was the only RB who stayed healthy all year. Akers and Henderson went back and forth providing productive weeks while the other was injured, until Akers broke out late in the season, and Henderson suffered a season-ending high-ankle sprain in Week 16. This opened the door for Akers to dominate touches in the playoffs, and the rest is history.

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Injuries aside, would I take Cam Akers over Darrell Henderson in a vacuum? Of course. Akers is a special talent, but Henderson's 2020 game film showed that he's no slouch on this offense. I won't pretend that things were always rosy for Henderson, and he's no McCaffery. He definitely struggled in a few games, but he has a clear path to a ton of work in 2021, and in fantasy we look for volume. Considering where the fantasy community's consensus was on Cam Akers before his injury, Henderson's current ADP presents massive upside. He will be in the same team situation that had us salivating over Akers's outlook, and arguably an even better situation. Being able to realistically take him as your RB3 makes Henderson in the 4th-5th my favorite risk/reward pick of the season. I'll be drafting him in as many leagues as I can, we swing for the fences around here.

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Check out the video I linked above to see what stood out to me in Henderson's 2020 game film. I'd appreciate any feedback, since this is my first time making this kind of content. This is the first video in a series I'm working on, highlighting mid-round RBs and diving into their game film / fantasy outlooks. I also posted a video on my channel compiling every single play from Henderson's 2020 campaign (every carry, every target, even plays called back due to penalty), if you're interested in taking a closer look.

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TL;DR

DRAFT JOSH GORDON