Chris Henry Rising?
It shouldn't have been too much of a surprise, but I certainly wasn't expecting it.
Chris Henry was available on my dynasty waiver wire this morning. I quickly picked him up, dropping Mario Manningham. Henry has topped 50 receiving yards in a game just once since Dec 15, 2007. He is one off-field miscue away from at least a year's suspension.
I recall a pre-Laveranues Coles signing conversation about Henry with Gregg Rosenthal. He asked me what I thought of the super-skilled but arrest-prone wideout's situation. I said I didn't think the Bengals could ever rely on Henry to play full time and that Andre Caldwell would get the first crack to start in place of T.J. Houshmandzadeh.
Coles signed on later, but with Chad Ochocinco sitting out minicamps, Henry is taking first-team reps and has the support of the most integral piece in the Bengals' organization.
We've got Chris Henry. He's kind of taken over for Chad's position. He's a guy that's...really turned his life around. I'm excited to watch him play. He's a guy that seems like he catches a touchdown every other ball that's thrown to him. He's that explosive.
Chad's pretty much gone, he hasn't been here. I haven't talked to him. I haven't talked to anybody that has talked to him. I'm planning on him not being here.
This is either Palmer reaching out to management to convey that he wants Chad gone, or it's Palmer trying to motivate Ochocinco to report. It could also be a hint that the Bengals will make Chad, coming off a career-worst season, compete for his starting position when he returns. In any event, Henry needs to be owned in all fantasy formats.
What do you make of Palmer's comments? Is depth-chart change on the horizon? Chad certainly didn't play last season like someone who should be guaranteed a starting role the following year.
Comments
I think that there has been a growing rift between Palmer and Ocho for a while. I remember last year when Ocho made some thinly veiled comments about how a QB (ie. Palmer) could get away with antics that a WR (ie. Chad) could not. I've had Chris Henry stashed for a few years in Dynasty leagues and whenever Palmer had the passing offense churning, it was hard to argue with Henry's TD and big play production, even behind TJ and Chad. Let's say hypothetically that Palmer is saying what the offensive coordinator and management agree to: that a WR corps of WR1 C. Henry, WR2 L. Coles, WR3 A. Caldwell, and WR4 J. Simpson, is just fine. Would there really be any point in the Bengals hording Chad for another season while his value continues to plummet? Maybe Henry's success has made trade tradeable again. I think the Raiders could do a lot worse and Al Davis has no problem with antics. I think that Ocho would look pretty good in a Raider black. A lot better than Javon Walker, Chaz Schilens and DHB.
Posted by: Captain Obvious | May 21, 2009 03:26 PM
i wouldn't put too much stock in a radio conversation in May. Chad will be back, he'll still be their best WR, and Henry will inevitably get himself suspended because that's what turds do.
Posted by: veggieb | May 21, 2009 05:22 PM
ya, he'll be back.. but will his targets? palmer has alot of say in Cincy. If he didn't, you wouldn't see his brother sitting there making NFL pay to benchwarm.
Posted by: Captain Obvious | May 21, 2009 07:00 PM
Henry will start moving up the draft boards soon in your redraft leagues. He's going to fill that much-needed WR4 spot on many fantasy rosters. If this whole Palmer / Ochocino thing continues to play out, we could be looking at the phasing out of Ochocinco led by Palmer. here's a link to my take on it: http://fantasyfootballninja.com/index.php/2009/05/carson-palmer-wants-chad-ochocinco-to-disappear/
Posted by: fantasyfootballninja | May 22, 2009 12:49 AM
Like the other wannabes that keep infecting this blog with links to their sites, I don't seem to recall anyone asking for your take on it. Why don't you just buy some ad space for your site instead of being a parasite on blogs like this.
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Posted by: Андрей | May 22, 2009 08:59 AM
"Like the other wannabes that keep infecting this blog with links to their sites, I don't seem to recall anyone asking for your take on it. Why don't you just buy some ad space for your site instead of being a parasite on blogs like this?"
Well said! I come here to read the take of the solid Rotoworld writers, not every freakin' aren't-I-great-just-visit-my-blog posters.
It would be all right with me if Rotoworld deleted each and every self-serving, link-infested post as soon as they came in.
I'll go cool off now...
Posted by: arbee | May 22, 2009 02:01 PM