Darrell Henderson was rarely used last season by the Rams despite being a third-round pick out of Memphis. He showed promise at times, but with Todd Gurley in the backfield, there were minimal opportunities for Henderson to showcase his talents in the regular season.
His chances have grown early in 2020, particularly with Cam Akers sidelined by a rib injury. He’s carried the ball 35 times in three games, averaging a healthy 5.7 yards per carry up to this point.
Henderson had his biggest workload in Sunday’s loss to the Bills, toting the rock 20 times for 114 yards and a touchdown – his best game in the NFL yet. It was a stark contrast to how he was utilized last season, and he was feeling the effects of a 20-carry game in the NFL when he woke up on Monday.
“Woo, I couldn’t even get up out of the bed this morning. Rolled over like three times,” Henderson said with a big smile.
It had been almost two years since Henderson carried the ball at least 20 times in a game, last doing so at Memphis in 2018. He had to think back to high school to remember the last time his workload was as big as it was on Sunday, but he felt good as the game wore on.
“I was feeling pretty good. I was in a groove, so fatigue is really a mindset, so I was feeling good,” he said.
When Akers returns from injury, it’ll be interesting to see how the Rams divvy up the carries at running back. Henderson may not get 20 carries again like he did in Week 3, but at the same time, it’ll be hard to take the ball out of his hands considering he’s averaging 6.5 yards per touch.
