Since taking over as the New England Patriots' starting quarterback in Week 13, Bailey Zappe has found comfort in throwing to eight-year veteran tight end Hunter Henry.
The Patriots offense moved slowly in a 6-0 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers as the players acclimated to playing under their new quarterback. With DeVante Parker leading the team in targets with nine, Zappe still targeted Henry four times while the rest of the team shared the other nine.
Things would only improve for the Zappe-Henry connection. In New England's 21-18 upset win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 14, the Patriots focused on moving up the field by utilizing Ezekiel Elliott in the check-down game, targeting the back eight times. When moving the ball up field, specifically in the red zone, Zappe trusted in his big tight end Henry, who caught all three targets for 40 yards, finding the end zone twice.
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Even though the Patriots fell 27-17 to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, Henry continued to show his young quarterback that he had a trustworthy target.
Henry led the team in targets with a season-high nine, catching seven for 66 yards and a touchdown. Henry also made an impressive sliding catch in the end zone that would have given him a second touchdown, but it was unfortunately called back due to a holding penalty against New England.
Adding everything together, Henry has logged 12 receptions on 16 targets for 121 yards and three touchdowns over the past three games with Zappe at QB. Outside of Elliott, who was targeted 19 times in what were mostly check-downs, Henry has proven to be Zappe's go-to man, specifically in scoring situations within the red zone.
Henry is one of three players who earned a "Stock Up" label in Phil Perry's "Stock Watch" report for Week 15. See below for the full Stock Watch and check out the video above for Perry's full breakdown.
MORE PATRIOTS COVERAGE
Stock Up
- Hunter Henry, TE
- Christian Barmore, DT
- Josh Uche, LB
Stock Down
- Bailey Zappe, QB
- Alex Austin, CB
- Patriots' health