Ladd McConkey vs TreVeyon Henderson

“That leaves a sizable hole in the offense, and McConkey should be the biggest beneficiary of those vacated targets.”

“Ladd McConkey is my bet for Herbert’s pass-catcher who will benefit the most from better health along the offensive line.”

“After working through it, the analyst landed on preferring McConkey over Tate, citing more confidence in McConkey’s current quarterback situation and offensive environment, along with an already-strong rookie season once his playoff performance is factored in.”

“With Allen no longer on the team, this opens up the opportunity for McConkey to emerge as Justin Herbert's clear top receiver and demand an elite target share. There's a clear path to him earning 150+ targets and hauling in 100+ receptions.”

“There's no denying Ladd McConkey was a massive fantasy disappointment last season. He saw a drop from 15.1 PPR points per game as a rookie down to 11.3.”

“Ladd at ADP 34 is a steep price for a role that could be more complicated than the market is admitting. The Chargers added David Njoku, Charlie Kolar, and Alec Ingold, which points to more 12 & 21 personnel, and that matters for a player who ran 64.0% of his routes from the slot.”

“McConkey's CTCH% dropped from 73% to 62% year-over-year, and that drop, combined with a lower YPC, made a substantial difference in his performance. Much of this can be attributed to the offensive line injuries and subsequent pocket pressure that QB Justin Herbert faced much of the season. Herbert was pressured on 45% of McConkey's targets, and his catchable targets dropped by 10 percentage points. Bringing back a fully healthy offensive line and drafting four additional linemen (including the #1 ranked Center in the class) should make a big difference for this offensive unit.”

“Despite a gaffe-riddled rookie year, QJ showed marginal development in his second season, and Ladd McConkey looked like one of the steals of the draft in 2024. Then Allen, who departed for a one-year sabbatical in Chicago in 2024, returned to Los Angeles for his swan song and mucked the whole thing up! Or did he? The narrative in the fantasy football community has been that Keenan Allen NERFed Ladd McConkey's 2025 numbers, but further analysis shows there were several other factors at play.”

“Ladd McConkey is being drafted just ahead of Josh Allen, who has a late-third-round ADP.”

“Jake Ciely's favorite wide receiver target closes the list. Although Ladd McConkey disappointed many fantasy managers last season, Ciely believes the market has overcorrected. With Mike McDaniel now running the Chargers offense, he expects McConkey to become the clear focal point of the passing game. McDaniel's offenses have consistently funneled targets to their top receiver, and Ciely believes McConkey is perfectly suited for that role thanks to his ability to create separation and generate yards after the catch. If the offense performs as expected, McConkey has a realistic path back into WR1 territory.”

“The biggest boost for McConkey is the arrival of Mike McDaniel as the Chargers' offensive coordinator. Last season, McConkey ran 90% of his routes with three receivers on the field, while just 10% came in 1-WR or 2-WR sets. Compare that to Jaylen Waddle last season under McDaniel, a similar player stylistically, who ran 54% of his routes in 3-WR sets and 46% in 1-WR or 2-WR sets.”

“With the departure of Allen and the addition of Mike McDaniel, there is reason to once again be excited about this offense. McConkey is by far the most talented and should rarely leave the field.”

“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.”