Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2001

King Henry?

If the Bills’ rookie running back maintains his pace, he might earn such a moniker

By Jeff Agrest, Senior editor

But then the field narrowed when Antowain Smith and Jonathan Linton were released. Then in training camp, Sammy Morris was slowed by a hamstring injury. That left Shawn Bryson and Henry to duel in the Bills’ preseason opener Sunday night against the Rams.

Winner: Henry.

After entering the game in the second quarter, the rookie rushed for 47 yards on six carries, including a TD run of 25 yards. He also caught two passes for 19 yards. In fact, of the Bills’ 92 yards in the first half, Henry accounted for 66.

Granted, it’s only preseason, but Henry did enough to earn the praise of his head coach, Gregg Williams, and his opinion counts the most.

"I’d say Travis, every time he gets the chance to play, is showing that he deserves a little more time, and he’ll get a little more time next week," said Williams, whose team will host the Eagles on Saturday night.

Having watched Henry perform at Tennessee and read scouting reports on him at draft time, I thought he had the potential to be special. In PFW’s 2001 Draft Preview, personnel expert Joel Buchsbaum had this to say about Henry:

"Is about as tough to tackle as a fire hydrant or a bowling ball rolling down a hill with butcher knives sticking out of it."

Get the picture?

Simply put, Henry is a very determined runner. He runs with a low center of gravity, exceptional balance and gains a lot of yards after contact. However, his shortcomings are obvious. He isn’t fast or elusive, and his experience in the passing game is limited.

But Henry’s production cannot be denied. After taking over for Jamal Lewis at Tennessee last season, Henry carried 253 times for 1,314 yards and 11 touchdowns. That’s an average of 5.2 yards per carry!

Though Henry isn’t a complete back, I expect him to figure prominently in the Bills’ plans this season, especially near the goal line. With Henry being the type of runner he is, why wouldn’t Williams use him in short-yardage situations?

But given what we saw from the rookie Sunday night, he just might have more in store for us.

"In Our Opinion" fantasy columns have now resumed for the 2001 season. Columns will appear daily, Tuesday through Friday, throughout the regular season. The Fantasy Doctor has returned with your pigskin prescriptions, so send your fantasy questions to the Doc's attention at fantasydoctor@pfwa.com

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