Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry is a true anomaly at the position in this day and age.
While most teams have fully committed to having their passing attack as the focal point of their offense, which is often complemented by a running back committee, the Titans continue to build their offense around Henry’s skill set.
Even after the recent addition of DeAndre Hopkins, offensive coordinator Tim Kelly made it relatively clear that Henry was still going to be the backbone of the offense.
And why wouldn’t he be when he just totaled nearly 2,000 yards from scrimmage despite everything he dealt with last year?
Whether it was playing with three quarterbacks, a horrendous offensive coordinator, a bad offensive line and no passing attack to take pressure off, the odds were stacked against Henry and he had every excuse to produce a down year.
Instead, he still found a way to rush for over 1,500 yards and 13 touchdowns while also tallying career-best 398 receiving yards.
If you ask me, I personally would have him as the No. 1 running back in the NFL because I don’t think there’s a single ball carrier in the league who could accomplish those same feats under those same circumstances.
However, Doug Farrar of Touchdown Wire went with a slightly lower ranking, going with Henry at No. 4 in his recent running back rankings.
Here is what Farrar had to say about Henry’s ranking:
Now, Derrick Henry is absolutely your typical sustaining, tackle-breaking back, and he’s been the fulcrum of his offense for a long time — which, of course, is highly unusual for any running back. Henry’s 2022 season wasn’t quite like his ridiculous 2020 campaign when he gained more yards after contact (1,525) than any running back not named Dalvin Cook (1,557) did overall, but 1,534 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns on 383 carries is nothing to sneeze at — especially when you factor in
Henry’s league-high 1,257 yards after contact, and 3.60 yards after contact per carry. This is the definition of a volume power runner in an era where such things are generally only spoken of in hushed tones.
As one might expect, Henry was the NFL’s most productive back against eight or more defenders in the box, with 650 yards, 490 yards after contact, and eight touchdowns in such situations. The Texans found Henry’s perambulations against loaded boxes particularly onerous — he had five runs of 10 or more yards against Houston’s stacked boxes.
After missing the second half of the 2021 season due to a foot fracture, Henry was right back in the swing of things. But his 1,249 attempts over the last four seasons? That’s a lot, and a lot more than anybody else in the NFL — Dalvin Cook ranks second with 1,075.
Henry will be 30 years old on January 4, 2024, so enjoy his old-school modus operandi while you can. Odds are, you won’t see his like again for a while.
Farrar also included a few video examples in his article, which you can find in the article we linked to above.
