Hunter Henry Should Not Be Slept On Heading Into 2022 Fantasy Football

Hunter Henry is entering the 2022 fantasy football season with an average draft projection of 130.4. Henry has scored at least 145 fantasy points in his last three seasons. He showed exceptional chemistry with rookie quarterback Mac Jones last season, especially in the redzone. There’s no denying that Henry is being slept on being drafted next to the likes of Cole Kmet and Irv Smith. Personally, I’ve loved seeing Henry falling to the end of mock drafts in the offseason because he’s ended up on several of my rosters. But at the end of the day, I just can’t fathom why so many fantasy managers are passing on Henry heading into the 2022 season.

What Did Henry Do Last season?

His first season with the Patriots was exceptional, racking up 50 receptions off 75 targets for 603 receiving yards, and a whopping nine touchdowns. Henry scored 164.3 fantasy points in full PPR scoring and finished as the 10^th tight end overall. All these stats are made even more impressive when you consider the Patriots also signed free agent tight end Jonnu Smith alongside Henry entering 2021. Smith had just under 450 receiving yards off 41 receptions and eight touchdowns in 2020. Henry made Smith a non-factor at the tight end position.

Henry finished the 2021 season with the third most receiving yards on the Patriots roster. Finishing only behind wide receivers Jakobi Meyers and Kendrick Bourne. Henry also finished with the second most targets of any player on the team, only behind Meyers. Jones spread the football around to a lot of different players his rookie season. You can’t overlook the fact that Henry was a security blanket for the young quarterback, which can easily blead over into next season. Did I mention Henry had the second most receiving yards per reception on the team at 15.3 as well?

The most important stat to me from last season for Henry is that he led the team in red zone targets. He had 18 red zone targets, and 10 total completions in the redzone. Nine of those ten completions were touchdowns. You can argue that this makes Henry “touchdown dependent”. But I think this helps solidify Henry’s role on this offense and if he’s scoring the touchdowns on a regular basis, are you really going to be complaining? On top of that outside of the top three players at the position, you can easily argue most tight ends are touchdown dependent in fantasy football.

75 targets. 0 drops. 9 touchdowns. @Hunter_Henry84 is unstoppable with a robotic @MacJones_10 all year

Turn offseason reps into in-season results & train with the best in football tech with the Seeker #NewEngland #TightEnd #TEU #Football #NFL #Playoffs @Patriots @RazorbackFB pic.twitter.com/edpSZhiU48

— Monarc (@MonarcSport) January 26, 2022

What Can We Expect Next Season?

The Patriots enter the 2022 season with a very similar offensive roster in comparison to the year before. The addition of veteran receiver DeVante Parker via trade will undoubtedly make a difference. But it doesn’t necessarily scare me out of targeting Henry in fantasy drafts this year. Breaking down Henry’s statistics from last season I am still beyond confident in his role with the Patriots. The Patriots also drafted a few offensive players this year including speedy receiver Tyquan Thornton. Once again this still doesn’t make me view any other player other than Henry as Jones’ first target in the redzone.

In Conclusion:

Henry has a phenomenal average draft projection of 130.4 making him a 10^th-12^th round pick currently in fantasy mock drafts. Henry was a top receiving option on this roster last season and was the number one target in the redzone. I see no reason why this won’t carry over into 2022, even with a few new receivers joining this offense. Don’t sleep on Henry entering the 2022 season, but let your league mates do so, that way you can get the steal of the draft at the tight end position.

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