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Should I drop TreVeyon Henderson for fantasy football Week 8? Is TreVeyon Henderson a safe player to cut? Read the fantasy football waivers outlook.
Sometimes, NFL teams simply do a poor job of scouting players. They spend premium draft picks on players that have clear flaws in their games, overlooking major red flags in their production profiles.
The New England Patriots aren't a team known for drafting well, but it's not like most of the football community wasn't sold on the talent of running back TreVeyon Henderson. So the Patriots selected him in the second round.
Preseason hype got out of control when he returned a kickoff for a touchdown. He was the new dominant RB1 that would be a league-winner and workhorse back in Year 1, right? No. Actually, he's a drop candidate. Seriously. So how did we get here? And should you really drop Henderson?
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Should I Drop TreVeyon Henderson in Fantasy Football?
It depends. If you're in a deep league with deep benches, no. But his trade value has almost entirely dried up, and it looks like the Patriots are bringing in literal practice-squad-level players to get reps over him. That's how bad he's been. And the idea that it's all Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel's fault doesn't make any sense.
Players need to earn reps by showing they can help the team. Vrabel won't give Henderson a big role if he doesn't think it will help the team win. And it appears that more reps for him would be an actively bad thing. The rookie is among the worst RBs in the league at forcing missed tackles and picking up yards after contact.
TreVeyon Henderson through 7 weeks:
+Forces a missed tackle on 7% of his runs (4th-worst of 42 RBs)
+Gains just 1.72 YAC per Attempt (2nd-worst)
Possibly the worst RB at playing through contact in the NFL
— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) October 22, 2025
My analysis of Henderson was that he looked a lot like a track athlete who put on muscle and a football uniform and was given the rock. His running back skill set is severely lacking, as his athleticism is not. The result of this is what we see now.
The Patriots have been unwilling to scheme him touches to get him in open space. NFL teams don't typically design plays to boost the production of their players artificially. And while Henderson was seen as an elite receiving back, he hasn't gotten much work there either.
Not convinced TreVeyon Henderson is an elite receiving back that just needs to get used more in the passing game. His receiving numbers are pretty much on the same level or worse than Rhamondre Stevenson's by virtually every statistical measure possible. pic.twitter.com/Fkbxp2Bbca
— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) October 22, 2025
I believe this is because his receiving numbers really aren't much better than those of starting RB Rhamondre Stevenson. You can see from the data above -- Henderson has not outperformed Stevenson as a receiver. So, what reason is there to put Henderson on the field?
He had awful gaffes in pass protection, can't run the ball up the middle, can't make defenders miss, goes down extremely easily on first contact, and doesn't offer big upside as a receiver. I don't blame you if you drop him. Even if he does have a few explosive plays, it's hard to see him being consistent at any point this year.
Both TreVeyon Henderson and Woody Marks had very low MTF rates in college and that's translating perfectly to very poor MTF rates in the NFL. Meanwhile, Jeanty, Tuten, and Skattebo all have very nice MTF rates in the NFL, just like in college. Translatable skillset? pic.twitter.com/N406DVV9EE
— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) October 22, 2025
Interestingly, we could have seen this coming if we (well, many fantasy managers) weren't so dismissive of missed tackle efficiency in college. Henderson was among the worst in the class in this area, as was Houston Texans RB Woody Marks, and they've both struggled in the NFL at doing the same.
Who Should I Pick Up for Fantasy Football?
My top recommendation for you to grab is Jacksonville Jaguars RB Bhayshul Tuten. To me, he has the highest chance of taking over his team's backfield without an injury to the starter catalyzing the process. The team's RB1, Travis Etienne Jr., has struggled mightily in recent weeks after a hot start to his year.
Weeks 1-4:
+394 Yds (RB3/49)
+6.06 YPC (RB1)
+7.7% Explosive Rush Rate (RB6)
+0.17 MTF/Att (RB24)Weeks 5-7:
+3.75 YPC (RB31/41, min. 15 att)
+0 Missed Tackles Forced on 41 carries
+1.34 YACon/Att (RB38)Extremely inefficient vs any decent defense
— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) October 20, 2025
While Etienne has hogged the lion's share of the backfield work, he's been extremely inefficient doing so in the past three weeks. Tuten dealt with a shoulder injury after Week 2 and was finally not listed on practice injury reports ahead of Week 7. His backfield work share jumped as a result.
% of the Jaguars RB carries, 2025:
Week 1
ETN: 64%
Tuten: 12%Week 2
ETN: 58%
Tuten: 33% (injured shoulder)Week 3-6:
ETN: 77%
Tuten: 21%Week 7 (Tuten off injury report for practices):
ETN: 62%
Tuten: 38%Etienne YPC in September: 6.1
...October: 3.8Tuten RB1 Szn loading
— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) October 21, 2025
Another player you could grab is Kansas City Chiefs running back Brashard Smith. His receiving role is very steady, and he caught a career-high five receptions for 42 yards in Week 7. Though he had a lot of garbage time rushing work, his value is more as a PPR scam, as his receptions are distributed throughout the game.
All of Brashard Smith's 19 Touches for 81 Rushing + Receiving Yards in the Chiefs Destruction of the Raiders.
Receptions first, as most of the rushing work came after the game was put away with the backup OL pic.twitter.com/jaC43QNbTp
— DMac Wake (@DMacWake316) October 20, 2025
Both are still widely available in leagues, and I recommend you grab and stash them if you're in a league with 12 or more teams.
Who Should I Pickup Tool
Trying to decide who to pickup off the waiver wire? Check the Who Should I Pickup tool here:
Compare up to four players and we'll tell you who to pickup...
Who Should I Pickup? Some common 2025 fantasy football waiver wire decisions are regarding players like Kyle Monangai, Brashard Smith, Woody Marks, Bam Knight, Isaiah Davis. But not to worry, we are here to help make these waiver wire decisions and build winning teams in 2025. Set your optimal fantasy football lineups in 2025. Our free Who Should I Pickup? tool will help make your fantasy football waiver wire decisions. Compare up to four NFL players, and we tell you who to pickup... all free! Make the right decisions.
2025 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on players like Kyle Monangai, Brashard Smith, Woody Marks, Bam Knight, Isaiah Davis. They are some of the most common searches for 2025 fantasy football waiver wire pickups.
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Below are some popular searches and comparisons from our Who To Pickup tool for 2025 for Kyle Monangai, Brashard Smith, Woody Marks, Bam Knight, Isaiah Davis
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