In 2022, NFL executives, coaches and scouts ranked running back Derrick Henry the No. 1 running back in the NFL. It came as no surprise on account of Henry boasting the most carries, yards and rushing touchdowns in 2019 and 2020, and an “off” season by him amounted to 937 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2021.
In 2023, Henry fell four spots, landing him at No. 5, due to his age heavy workload.
“The issue with Henry is age (29) and tread,” ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler wrote. “Entering his eighth NFL season, he has led the league in carries in three of the past four years, including 349 in 2022. That’s a lot to ask of a back, even a 247-pound iron man such as Henry.
But, Fowler stated Henry was still a force entering 2023, and so did an NFL personnel director.
“There’s a little decline, but he’s still an anomaly,” an NFL personnel director said. “You just don’t know how long it will last. If anyone can do it, it will be him. Adrian Peterson is a guy like that. They can last longer.”
And in their latest rankings of the NFL’s best running backs, Henry fell another four spots, placing him No. 9 in the NFL.
“Having more than 2,000 carries over eight years usually gets thirty-something backs out of here,” Fowler wrote. “But Henry is still the king of yards after contact, leading the league with 619 last year. He hit 21.68 miles per hour on a long touchdown run at 247 pounds.
While his ranking diminished, a veteran NFL coach doesn’t expect to see Henry’s ability following suit.
“He’s a warrior,” the veteran NFL coach said. “Just keeps himself in such good physical conditioning with offseason workouts. I don’t see him slowing down over the next two years. He’s a volume back with great size, breaks tackles, has deceptive speed and no one’s really catching him if he gets going. I don’t think he’s lost a step.”
The biggest curiosity has come from the fit. Yes, the Ravens are a team specialized in running the football, but their offense predicates more on shotgun runs. Henry was an I-formation running back with his quarterback often under center. According to Fowler, numerous execs, coaches and scouts wondered about the fit.
“It’s definitely going to be interesting,” an NFC scout said. “They will probably go with a little more pistol, which is like being underneath center, and he can get downhill.”
It’s not without merit, as Ravens running backs coach Willie Taggart had reservations about the fit, too.
“[After] watching the film in Tennessee, that was a concern; like, ‘We’re in the [shotgun], and we run from the gun, and how would Derrick [Henry] be in it,” Taggart said.
But once he saw Henry hit the field, those worries vanished.
“And I’m not going to lie, I questioned that, until he got here, and [I saw] the big man move his feet, and I’m like, ‘Woah.’ It’s really impressive for a guy that size to move the way he does,” Taggart said. “…he’s pretty swifty on his feet and [has] great vision and all. But seeing him do it from the gun, I don’t have any … I don’t think we’ll have any problem doing it. And, we’ll also be under center. We do some things under center, as well. But Derrick is an athlete. He’s a big athlete, and I don’t think he’ll have any problem with anything we ask him to do.
