Start Jonathan Taylor or Derrick Henry? Week 7

Updated Oct 19, 9:21 PM ET. Locks at kickoff, graded after. Week 8 answer posts Tuesday.

Start Jonathan Taylor over Derrick Henry

Start

Jonathan Taylor

RB · IND · at MIN

Market projects: 18.9; recent weeks avg
MIN D vs RB: 14.3; fewest to RBs (2026)
Snap share: 82%; Through Week 6
Target share: 11%; Through Week 6

Sit

Derrick Henry

RB · BAL · vs CIN

Market projects: 18.4; recent weeks avg
CIN D vs RB: 18.6; 8th fewest to RBs (2026)
Snap share: 58%; Through Week 6
Target share: 6%; Through Week 6

Should I drop Derrick Henry for Jonathan Taylor?

Yes, on the rest of the season. Jonathan Taylor projects 194 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (19.4 a game over 10 games), Derrick Henry 170 (17.0 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Jonathan Taylor over Derrick Henry.

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Our Week 7 call

Start Jonathan Taylor over Derrick Henry in Week 7.

Market-based projections have Jonathan Taylor at 18.9 points and Derrick Henry at 18.4, a gap of 0.6. That is inside the noise of a single catch, so treat it as close to a coin flip. No player market is posted for Jonathan Taylor this week yet, so his 18.9 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 4 and 5 (19.9 and 17.9); the call is rebuilt when his market posts. No player market is posted for Derrick Henry this week yet, so his 18.4 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 4 and 5 (21.3 and 15.4); the call is rebuilt when his market posts. Drafters take Jonathan Taylor at ADP 8 and Derrick Henry at 15.

What the market projects

No Week 7 player market is posted for Jonathan Taylor yet. His market-based projections were 19.9 and 17.9 points in Weeks 4 and 5, an average of 18.9, which stands in until his Week 7 market posts.

No Week 7 player market is posted for Derrick Henry yet. His market-based projections were 21.3 and 15.4 points in Weeks 4 and 5, an average of 18.4, which stands in until his Week 7 market posts.

That puts Jonathan Taylor 0.6 points ahead of Derrick Henry on these projections.

Week 7 matchups

Jonathan Taylor and IND visit MIN on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

MIN allowed 14.3 fantasy points a game to RBs this season over 5 games, the fewest in the league.

Running backs ran for 72 yards and 0.4 touchdowns a game against MIN and caught passes for 18 more yards.

Derrick Henry and BAL host CIN on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

CIN allowed 18.6 fantasy points a game to RBs this season over 5 games, the 8th fewest in the league.

Running backs ran for 82 yards and 0.6 touchdowns a game against CIN and caught passes for 32 more yards.

By points allowed to the position, Derrick Henry has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Jonathan Taylor is not on the injury report.

Derrick Henry is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 7

Through Week 6, Jonathan Taylor played 82 percent of IND snaps, took 74 percent of the carries, drew 11 percent of the targets and had 49 percent of the red zone chances.

Jonathan Taylor, Week 3 against HOU: 60 of 71 snaps, 23 carries for 68 yards, 3 targets and 2 catches for 4 yards.

Jonathan Taylor, Week 4 against WAS: 47 of 66 snaps, 20 carries for 95 yards, 4 targets and 1 catch for 2 yards, 2 touchdowns.

Jonathan Taylor, Week 5 against PIT: 52 of 71 snaps, 15 carries for 45 yards, 4 targets and 3 catches for 37 yards.

Jonathan Taylor, Week 6 against TEN: 21 carries for 94 yards, 4 targets and 2 catches for 57 yards, 1 touchdown.

Through Week 6, Derrick Henry played 58 percent of BAL snaps, took 73 percent of the carries, drew 6 percent of the targets and had 53 percent of the red zone chances.

Derrick Henry, Week 3 against DAL: 43 of 64 snaps, 26 carries for 89 yards, 1 target and 1 catch for 0 yards, 2 touchdowns.

Derrick Henry, Week 4 against TEN: 40 of 64 snaps, 23 carries for 73 yards, 2 targets and 2 catches for 6 yards, 1 touchdown.

Derrick Henry, Week 5 against ATL: 42 of 76 snaps, 24 carries for 102 yards, 2 targets and 1 catch for 18 yards, 1 touchdown.

Derrick Henry, Week 6 against CLE: 17 carries for 58 yards, 1 target and 1 catch for 2 yards.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025, Jonathan Taylor played 17 games for IND and scored 362.3 PPR points, 21.3 a game, finishing RB4.

He ran 323 times for 1585 yards and 18 touchdowns, and caught 46 of 55 targets for 378 yards.

He was on the field for 84 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

In 2025, Derrick Henry played 17 games for BAL and scored 279.5 PPR points, 16.4 a game, finishing RB8.

He ran 307 times for 1595 yards and 16 touchdowns, and caught 15 of 21 targets for 150 yards.

He was on the field for 54 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

Their other Week 7 calls

Locks at kickoff, graded after. When the start/sit engine grades week 7, the call and the result appear on the public record, wrong ones included.

Drop or keep

Should I drop Derrick Henry for Jonathan Taylor?
Yes, on the rest of the season. Jonathan Taylor projects 194 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (19.4 a game over 10 games), Derrick Henry 170 (17.0 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Jonathan Taylor over Derrick Henry.
Should I drop Jonathan Taylor for Derrick Henry?
No. Keep Jonathan Taylor: he projects 194 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (19.4 a game over 10 games), Derrick Henry 170 (17.0 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Jonathan Taylor over Derrick Henry.