The Los Angeles Rams are having a disastrous season so far this year and they are turning over their personnel. On Tuesday, they waived starting running back Darrell Henderson Jr.
Buy Vikings TicketsRams waived RB Darrell Henderson.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 22, 2022
On the onset, it’s a very confusing move by the Rams, but they have been trying to do anything they can to change over talent in the building to try and spark a turnaround for their season.
With Henderson Jr. now on the market, he is available to be claimed at his pro-rated contract of $1.33 million. Here are four reasons why the Vikings should put in a claim for Henderson Jr.
Familiarity with the offense
The fourth-year running back has spent his entire career in the same system that the Vikings currently run and head coach Kevin O’Connell was his offensive coordinator for the last two seasons. The familiarity would be there immediately and Henderson Jr. could spend his first couple of weeks getting comfortable with his surroundings and new teammates rather than learn the playbook.
The Vikings could use the depth
The Vikings only feel comfortable putting two running backs onto the field right now in Dalvin Cook and Alexander Mattison. Despite his dynamic athleticism and return ability, they aren’t quite there right now with Kene Nwangwu and Ty Chandler is on injured reserve. The addition of Henderson Jr. would give the Vikings an opportunity to add another talented back to the room and help keep the legs fresh for the playoff run. It would also provide more insurance for a potential Cook injury that is prone to happen.
The athletic profile is desirable
Henderson came out of Memphis in the 2019 NFL draft and had a nice athletic profile. According to Relative Athletic Score, Henderson scored a 7.71 (77.1 percentile) and ran a 4.49-second 40-yard dash. What the Vikings will prioritize is Henderson’s 10-yard split, something that general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has shown that he likes in players. That number was a staggering 1.42 seconds and ranks in the 99.9th percentile among running backs. That type of speed and quickness would be excellent to add to the Vikings’ offense.
He was never given a fair shake in Los Angeles
For whatever reason, the Rams didn’t give him a fair chance. They continuously tried to replace him year after year with the biggest attempts coming when they drafted Cam Akers with the 52nd overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft and just recently when they offered Akers and four draft picks to the Carolina Panthers for Christian McCaffrey. There is a sizeable amount of talent with Henderson and the Viking could reap the benefits on the cheap.
