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Jets from New York @ New England Patriots
TreVeyon Henderson continues to find the end zone: Henderson took the vast majority of the snaps for New England’s offense, finding the end zone three times.
Patriots halfback Rhamondre Stevenson was ruled out with a toe injury, his third straight absence. In his first game, Henderson played 75% of the Patriots’ offensive snaps, while Terrell Jennings played 25%. Although the difference in snaps was large, Henderson ran to Jennings’ eleven fourteen times, and it was Jennings who found the end zone. Last week, New England started the game with a similar split, as Jennings got more carries than Henderson to start the game. Jennings suffered a knee injury early on, causing the team to turn to Henderson for the remainder of the game. D’Ernest Johnson was a recent addition to the practice squad after playing for the Arizona Cardinals earlier this season. Henderson had a 55-yard and 69-yard touchdown run in that game.
This week, Jennings was limited in practice. He was officially listed as doubtful and was active, but did not play in attack. New England used a similar rotation to Sunday when Jennings was out, as Henderson played the clear majority of the snaps, while Johnson only played when Henderson needed a break. Henderson struggled to make the big plays in terms of yards, leading to relatively low yards per carry, but the Patriots were able to find their way into the red zone. All three of Henderson’s touchdowns occurred when the Patriots were within 10 yards of the score.
Stevenson was limited in practice Monday and Tuesday, but did not practice Wednesday and was ruled out. The Patriots have been granted extra time for their next game, which could be enough time for Stevenson to be ready to play. He played 72-77% of offensive snaps before the injury. Even though Henderson has scored touchdowns, we could see the team move to more of a 50-50 split rather than Henderson keeping the job. The Patriots have the best schedule for running backs through the rest of the season, so it’s possible both running backs could be fantasy starters in the future.
The Patriots used only one tight end: Austin Hooper was ruled out due to a concussion.
The Patriots have only used two tight ends all season. Hunter Henry was the starter and played over 80% of the Patriots’ offensive snaps, and Hooper was a veteran backup and played over 50% of the snaps. New England fullback Jack Westover can also play tight end, but he didn’t do that as much in this game. New England has several tight ends on the practice squad but has opted not to take any of them to the next level.
Henry obviously played more than usual this week. If New England wanted to give Henry a play-off, they would switch to 10 men instead of letting Westover take his spot. New England had only played once this season with Westover on the field and had no tight ends. The Patriots had not used 10 men at all this season. Henry had a fine performance with four receptions for 45 yards.
Hopefully, Hooper can clear the concussion protocol with extended time before New England’s next game. Henry has a great game next week against the Cincinnati Bengals as they are the team that has allowed the most fantasy points to tight ends. His schedule gets tougher after that, and New England still has its bye, so he may only be in fantasy starting lineups for one more week this season.
Stefon Diggs And Mack Hollins step up with multiple Patriots injuries: Kayshon Boutte was limited all week, missing his second straight game due to a hamstring injury.
Boutte led the Patriots’ wide receiver room in offensive snaps through the first nine weeks, playing two-thirds of the offensive snaps as their X receiver. Mack Hollins and Stefon Diggs weren’t far behind at 61% and 55%, while backups DeMario Douglas (30%) and Kyle Williams (21%) were also heavily involved. Last week, Williams took over as the X receiver and deep threat option, but Hollins also played more offensive snaps thanks to the four-man rotation, down from five.
There were more snaps in the wide receiver room this week thanks to Austin Hooper’s absence. The Patriots used 0 personnel on a few snaps, which they had not used this season, and they used 11 personnel a lot more compared to 12. This caused Hollins and Diggs to be rotated much less than normal. They both played over 80% of the offensive snaps. They also led the team in receiving yards, finishing with more than 60 each.
Once Boutte returns, we can expect to see a lot more rotation among the wide receivers. The Patriots have one of the easiest schedules for the remainder of the season, which should allow the team to focus on the run game. Hollins may seem like a target for waivers after back-to-back big games, but he should remain on the watch list assuming Boutte is back next week.
New York is completely reworking its wide receiver rotation: The Jets’ top two wide receivers are on injured reserve, and the team recently traded for two receivers.
The Jets’ top two wide receivers this season are Garrett Wilson and Josh Reynolds, but both players are on injured reserve. They are both eligible to return before the end of the season, but there is a chance neither returns this season given the Jets’ record and the risk and reward of returning. Fourth-round rookie Arian Smith has played the second-most snaps among Jets receivers this season, but he has just six receptions for 47 yards. Veterans Tyler Johnson and Allen Lazard have both moved up and down the depth chart multiple times this season, sometimes as starters, healthy inactives or somewhere in between.
New York recently traded for John Metchie III and Adonai Mitchell. Metchie started his career with the Houston Texans, was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles before the season, but played very little time as he was too deep in the Eagles’ depth. Mitchell began his career with the Indianapolis Colts, but in his only start this season, he released the ball in front of the end zone, leading to a turnover instead of a touchdown. He also had a penalty that cost the team a long touchdown. Metchie saw action last week, while Mitchell was inactive.
This week, Mitchell and Lazard were both active after not playing last week, giving the team six wide receivers, which was unusual. Metchie worked his way to the top of the Jets’ depth chart, playing the obvious majority of snaps in both two- and three-receiver sets. His alignment distribution was similar to Wilson’s. Isaiah Williams was recently signed off the practice squad and became the Jets’ third wide receiver in three-receiver sets, often lining up. He has surpassed Smith on the depth chart and has largely assumed his role. Johnson and Mitchell rotated as the Jets’ X-receiver. Johnson played more in run situations and Mitchell played more in passing situations. They take Reynolds’ place.
Mitchell was the Jets’ clear top target. Historically, he has an impressive average depth of target, and Fields has a history of making deep passes, but New York didn’t have a clear deep target through the first half of the season. Unfortunately, several of Mitchell’s targets were dropped. Mitchell and Metchie are both worth considering off the waiver wire as they have the most potential in the wide receiver room. The Jets have a solid schedule at wide receivers through the remainder of the season, so both are worth parting with in deeper leagues.
Miscellaneous notes
- Jets halfback Khalil Herbert was limited on Monday and was upgraded to full participant on Tuesday. He was struggling with a groin injury. He was listed as doubtful on Wednesday but did not play.
- Breece Hall’s playing time has increased. Since the Jets’ bye week, he has played over 70% of the Jets’ offensive snaps in consecutive games. He achieved this in just one match before the bye.
- New York tight end Jelani Woods was a healthy inactive, his second straight absence.
Table notes
- Snaps include plays called back due to penalties, including offensive holding or defensive pass interference. These plays have been removed from the other three statistics.
- Objectives may differ from official NFL sources. The most likely discrepancy would be the result of an obviously thrown pass, where the NFL could give the target to the nearest receiver, while this data does not.
- Carries are only possible on designed plays. Quarterback scrambles do not count toward the total number of carries in the game.
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