NFL
Fantasy Football: 4 Things We Learned From Week 6

The Chargers Are Finally Using the Right Tight End

It only took almost half the season, but the Chargers are finally giving Hunter Henry the keys to the car.

It was about time, too. Our metrics indicate that Henry was much more efficient than Antonio Gates on a per-target basis, so it was frustrating to see Gates targeted more often. Coming into Week 6, Henry's 0.75 Reception Net Expected Points (NEP) per target outpaced Gates' 0.50 rate significantly and was tied for the second-highest rate on the team with Keenan Allen.

It's the right move for the Bolts. In their only two wins this season, the team has targeted Henry a total of 15 times while targeting Gates just 4 times. Henry's targets aren't the only reason for those wins, but targeting your more efficient pass catchers certainly helps win games.

His snaps have also increased each of the last three weeks with a high of 81.3 this weekend, while Gates' dipped down to 56.9 percent. As this has been the recent trend, it feels safer to say that the Bolts are shifting towards Henry now than it did in Week 2.

Henry's rise in opportunity share and the Chargers' recent wins should indicate that he's the go-to tight end in that offense going forward, which is a valuable role for fantasy football.

Prev Next

Related News

An Introduction to FanDuel Research

Jim Sannes  --  Oct 16th, 2017

The Late-Round Fantasy Football Podcast, Mailbag 7/21/23

JJ Zachariason  --  Oct 16th, 2017

The Late-Round Fantasy Football Podcast, Approaching Unique Leagues

JJ Zachariason  --  Oct 16th, 2017