Bleacher Report names Henry as early season disappointment

Last week, Bleacher Report gave each team their biggest early season disappointment, and gave that honor to Hunter Henry for the New England Patriots.  Hunter Henry is one of the highest paid players on the Patriots and at his position, so the team should expect him to be able to produce nearly week to week.

However, that has not been the case so far, as Bleacher Report has named him the team’s biggest disappointment after the first several weeks.  To be fair, they have a point.  In 2021, Henry enjoyed arguably his best season as a pro.  He caught 50 passes for 603 yards and a whopping nine touchdowns.

He and Mac Jones clearly developed a chemistry, and Henry giving what he did in the passing game was just about all they could have asked of him.  In 2021, he averaged three catches for 36 yards per game.  In 2022, the story is a bit different.

Through five games, he’s caught just nine passes for 95 yards.  He’s averaging two receptions for 19 yards per game.  If he holds this total for the entire season, his production would fall to 34 receptions for 323 yards, which are very low numbers.

To make matters worse, he has not caught a touchdown pass on the season either.  He’s not the best blocker, so it’s not like he’s been able to make up for his lack of production elsewhere.  Last season was the first of his career where he played in all regular season games, and he’s played in all five this season, so his health appears to not be an issue.

Perhaps he and Mac Jones can get back to their 2021 habits once he returns to the lineup from his ankle injury.  If not, the team might have to consider more extreme measures after the season regarding Henry.  They also have Jonnu Smith under a large contract as well, and he has not lived up to it thus far, either.