DeVonta Smith vs TreVeyon Henderson

“DeVonta Smith is a terrific receiver, but it might be a mistake to assume that Smith’s 2026 numbers will dwarf those of Lemon, the 20th overall pick in this year’s draft.”

“WR DeVonta Smith will move into the WR1 role on the Eagles and in fantasy. When A.J. Brown has missed games in the past, he steps up.”

“DeVonta Smith (PHI) : ADP 26.5 | WR12 The worst-kept secret in the NFL was the A.J. Brown trade. Smith has taken over as the Eagles’ No. 1 wide receiver with Brown in New England. Last season, he finished as the WR20, averaging 11.9 PPR fantasy points per game.”

“Last season, DeVonta Smith (like the rest of the Eagles’ offense) failed to live up to expectations. It was the former Heisman Trophy winner’s worst statistical season since his rookie year, way back in 2021. This year, the Eagles have made some changes.”

“In 21 games without Brown, Smith has over 1,200 yards and six touchdowns with almost seven targets per game. Now the clear No. 1 WR in Philly, his cost on Fantrax is just far too low.”

“He also pointed to anticipated schematic changes that could create more play-action and pre-snap motion, potentially increasing Smith's efficiency without requiring a dramatic spike in volume.”

“Jake Ciely believes Devonta Smith continues to be undervalued. Smith has already demonstrated that he can produce WR1 numbers whenever he's asked to handle a featured role. Even with other weapons in the offense, Ciely expects Philadelphia's passing attack to remain heavily concentrated, giving Smith another opportunity to outperform his draft position.”

“Smith has averaged over 1,000 receiving yards per season despite serving as a complementary piece to Brown. He is wired for big moments and big roles, and feels more than ready to become the focal point of the Eagles' passing game. He will almost certainly dominate targets in 2026 as long as he stays healthy.”

“Smith has taken over as the Eagles' No. 1 wide receiver with Brown in New England. Smith was outstanding when seeing enough volume, averaging 19.3 fantasy points per game in the seven contests where he had seven or more targets, scoring 20 or more in nearly a third of those outings.”

“Devonta Smith is a wide receiver for your Grand-Dad's democratic party. He used to boast about his open-mindedness to smaller wide receivers and he even mentioned Smith's impressive splits without A.J. Brown.”

“Now the unquestioned top receiving threat for Philadelphia following the departure of A.J. Brown to New England, Smith will see a clear path towards WR1 volume. Smith already has three 1,000-yard receiving seasons in his five-year career playing second-fiddle, so it stands to reason he can take a significant step forward with higher target volume and more plays designed towards him.”

“At 170 pounds, the physical toll of intermediate, over-the-middle target volume is a major durability risk. Furthermore, Hurts has historically avoided the middle of the field; if he refuses to pull the trigger on timed crossers or in-breaking routes, Smith's ceiling could be capped.”

“When Jason’s pick came, he admitted he was purposefully unhelpful in Andy’s decision-making game because he himself wanted Etienne, but settled for TreVeyon Henderson, who he considered taking in the previous round.”

“Henderson could eat into Stevenson’s workload more in 2026 if he can take another step and payoff as an RB2, but he ‘s best viewed as an upside RB3.”

“For RB2, the cutoffs land at TreVeyon Henderson and Tony Pollard respectively.”

“TreVeyon Henderson (RB – NE) Henderson is currently going 58th overall, a full 20 picks ahead of his own backfield mate in the rankings. Last year’s split tells the story: while his teammate was healthy, Henderson managed just 6.6 fantasy points per game across the first eight weeks.”

“TreVeyon Henderson (NE) – ADP 53.6 | RB22 Fantasy players had high hopes for Henderson as a rookie. Unfortunately, he was unstartable for most of the year, finishing as the RB21.”

“More importantly, Henderson averaged 11.3 touches and 9.5 fantasy points per game in the regular season with Stevenson healthy. By comparison, he averaged 19 touches and 24.3 fantasy points per game without the veteran playing.”

“TreVeyon Henderson fits well in the Patriots' backfield as an explosive complement to Rhamondre Stevenson. However, according to the Fantasy Points Data Suite, Stevenson averaged more yards after contact per attempt and missed tackles forced per attempt than Henderson. He was also given more carries inside the 5-yard line.”

“Without Stevenson in the lineup in Weeks 9-11, Henderson averaged 19 touches and 110 total yards. With Stevenson active, Henderson had 11.2 touches and 57.2 total yards per game. Last year, Henderson was bested by Stevenson in every metric that I care about, namely explosive run rate, missed tackle rate, yards after contact per attempt, yards per route run, and pass protection stats.”

“TreVeyon Henderson finished his rookie season as the RB24 in fantasy points per game, but it wasn't nearly that productive for fantasy managers when you look at the full breakdown of how it unfolded. In Weeks 10-11, Rhamondre Stevenson wasn't active, and Henderson feasted with 60.3 combined PPR points, which accounted for 29.2% of his overall fantasy production for the season.”

“Henderson finished nearly dead-on with his draft placement, ending the year as the RB20. As with Harvey, it took time for the coaching staff to fully trust him and feel confident incorporating him into the game plan. Henderson didn't have a top-20 finish at the position until Week 9, and then he truly burst onto the scene.”

“Henderson is being drafted like New England's unquestioned lead back despite trailing Stevenson in missed tackles forced, yards after contact and pass-blocking reliability, which are the exact traits that keep backs on the field in every situation.”

“TreVeyon Henderson is getting pushed way too high on Sleeper. At an ADP in the low 40s, fantasy managers are treating him like a locked-in RB2 even though ECR has him nearly 20 points lower.”