Former Jacksonville Jaguars running back and current NFL.com analyst, Maurice Jones-Drew, believes Tennessee Titans star rusher Derrick Henry is the best running back in the NFL going into 2021.
MJD recently ranked the projected starting running backs of every team in the NFL against one another and placed Henry at No. 1 on his list. Here’s why.
Do I really need to make a case for why Derrick Henry deserves to hold this spot? King Henry is the reigning Offensive Player of the Year after rushing for 2,027 yards and 17 touchdowns. He’s one of the main reasons the Titans won the AFC South for the first time since 2008. Henry is the cream of the crop.
This is the third time this offseason Henry has reigned supreme in running back rankings, as he was also No. 1 on the lists of CBS Sports and Pro Football Focus.
Henry has easily been the most dominant running back in the NFL the past two seasons, so these top rankings come as no surprise.
On top of winning a pair of rushing crowns in a row, Henry topped 2,000 yards in 2020 — the eighth player in NFL history to do so — and he earned the AP Offensive Player of the Year award for his efforts.
In an age where running backs are expected to produce more in the passing game, Henry’s lack of involvement in that area has hurt him in rankings in the past, but clearly he can no longer be denied thanks to his sheer dominance on the ground.
