Running backs seem to be an interchangeable lot for much of the NFL these days. Don't tell that to workhorse Derrick Henry and the Tennessee Titans.
NFL fans are in the midst of witnessing a special standard being set by Derrick Henry. One that will hopefully keep Henry running years into the future and the NFL record books.
Not too shabby for a player drafted in the second-round (45th-pick) in the 2016 NFL draft.
True, running backs have been viewed differently in recent years. While still very valuable and integral to an offense, the way players in this position are used can lead to limited carries and opportunities for lead running backs.
This is not entirely a bad thing, as longer careers and hopefully healthier players are a result.
Henry is a breed of running back straight out of the past, bruising his way to highlights and yards. He was exactly this back in 2016, coming off a Heisman-winning campaign in 2015 where as a junior at Alabama he ran for 2215 yards. Henry had 28 rushing touchdowns and added 11 in the passing game.
Despite those numbers, NFL teams shied away from running backs in those early rounds. Prior to Henry's selection by the Titans, the only other running back selected was Ezekiel Elliott. Elliott was drafted fourth by the Dallas Cowboys.
Things began slowly in Henry's career, but he's definitely proving as of late to be a once-in-a-generation talent.
Derrick Henry: A meteoric rise
Those first two seasons, Henry split time with Demarco Murray, playing in a total of 31 games. He did have four starts and finished that two-season run with a grand total of 1434 yards and 10 touchdowns.
As a rookie, Henry's highest single game output was 65 yards. He didn't even record his first 100-yard game until game six of 2017, a 131-yard effort against Indianapolis.
Since the close of 2017, all that Henry has done is rack up numbers. Five times the powerful back has reached 200 rushing yards in a game or more. Two of these games have come against the Houston Texans. Once was in 2019, where Henry had 211 yards and three touchdowns. He went and upped the ante in 2020, dropping 250 yards on 7.4 yards per attempt (with two touchdowns to boot).
In 2018, Henry became the man in the backfield, but it wasn't until 2019 that he really got going. He was a consistent performer but had only 100-yard game in the season's first nine games. Closing out '19, however, Henry was held to under 100 yards only once.
In his career, in addition to the 200-yard games, Henry has hit between 100 and 199 yards a total of 19 times.
Last season, Henry finished with 2027 yards on the ground, placing him fifth on the single season list. He had 17 touchdowns on the ground and averaged 5.4 yards per attempt.
As good as Henry was last year, and as valuable he is to the Tennessee Titans, 2021 is gearing up to be even better.
Derrick Henry in 2021
Five games into this season, Henry is again going to work, with 640 yards to his credit. He's on pace to become the first running back with three-straight seasons with at least 1500 yards and 15 touchdowns. Doing so might even rightfully deliver the MVP award to Henry.
Henry is outracing his competitors as Nick Chubb, who is having a fine season himself, is second in the league in rushing and a 117 yards behind.
By himself, Henry has more rushing yards than 24 teams and has the same total as Arizona.
With the added 17th-game this season, there's a decent chance Henry can set the single-season rushing record. If he kept up at his current pace, Henry would finish with 2176. This would beat the record Eric Dickerson set in 1984 by 71 yards.
At 6500 career-rushing yards, Henry is already 77th on the all-time list. He could very well be within the top-60 by the end of the season.
Henry has been something to behold as he runs around and through opponents. A perfect combination of speed, strength, and vision has helped Henry become the best running back in the game. Watching him play, it's evident Henry gets better quarter-by-quarter and game-by-game. One day, as long as health and desire hold, Henry will be one of the greatest to ever grace this game.
image credit: Wikimedia Commons
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