Who Should I Start? Trey Benson or TreVeyon Henderson

Wednesday, November 5, 9:17 AM

Arizona Cardinals second-year running back out of Florida State, Trey Benson (knee), is eligible to return from the IR this week; however, the team has not yet provided an update on whether or not they will activate him. "He's doing well. He's getting better," head coach Jonathan Gannon said on November 1. Fantasy managers who have been stashing him on their IR will be disappointed by this news, but it will remain crucial for fantasy managers to stay up to date with his news this week to see if he's activated. Benson was fantasy football's top waiver wire pick-up back in Week 4 when James Conner (foot) was ruled out for the year. Since Benson's injury, the Cardinals' running back room has been a carousel of Bam Knight, Emari Demercado, and Michael Carter. After Week 9's win at the Dallas Cowboys, it was Demercado who appeared to be the more effective running back (5.64 YPC) compared to Knight's (3.0 YPC). The Cardinals have also committed to Jacoby Brissett as their starting quarterback moving forward, so once Benson returns, he should be in the RB2 conversation and see a majority of the team snaps. He remains one of, if not the best, IR stash in fantasy football.

Wednesday, November 5, 3:21 PM

New England Patriots running back TreVeyon Henderson played a season-high (and, thus, career-high) 75 percent of the offensive snaps during Week 9 against the Atlanta Falcons. The rookie took advantage of Rhamondre Stevenson (toe) being sidelined and tallied 14 carries, 55 rushing yards, four receptions, and 32 receiving yards. While he did earn the bulk of the backfield snaps, carries, and targets, he shared more touches than expected with Terrell Jennings, who had 11 carries and one catch. Nevertheless, the backfield mostly belonged to Henderson, and we could see this trend continue in Week 10 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Stevenson did not practice on Wednesday, leaving Henderson to handle first-team reps as the Patriots prepare for the Bucs. Stevenson will likely need to get on the field in some capacity on Thursday or Friday to have a chance to play in Week 10. Even if Stevenson does suit up, he's not a lock to start; his 3.4 yards per carry and three lost fumbles in 2025 are concerning, and Henderson's decent showing last week could be enough for the Patriots to give him the keys to the backfield. To make a long story short, Henderson will continue to face competition from Stevenson or Jennings no matter what, but the rookie out of Ohio State is one step closer to taking full control of the New England backfield. At the moment, he ranks as a low-end RB2 in redraft leagues.