Much of the Tennessee Titans’ recent success has had to do with a backfield that features star running back Derrick Henry.
He and quarterback Ryan Tannehill were the driving force of the offense, though Henry seemed to carry a larger portion of that load through the postseason.
Henry finished out the season with the league’s rushing title (1,540 yards), carrying the ball a league-leading 303 times and recording 16 touchdowns. He also reeled in 18 receptions for 206 yards and a pair of scores.
When Pro Football Focus’ Steve Palazzolo released his backfield rankings, the Titans sat at No. 8 overall. That’s ahead of the Baltimore Ravens and behind the Minnesota Vikings.
Here’s what he had to say about that placement.
Henry was a monster, averaging a league-high 4.2 yards after contact per rush. It took him a while to get going, but he finally started to run like a player with a 247-pound frame and a 4.54 40 time. He has an impressive 89.3 rushing grade since entering the league and has excelled as a one-cut runner who makes tacklers pay when trying to bring him down.
The Titans also gave themselves a potentially very effective way to keep Henry off the field by drafting former Appalachian State rusher, Darrynton Evans this year.
The backup spot will likely be manned by third-round pick Darrynton Evans, who is the opposite of Henry from a size standpoint but brings explosiveness and 4.41 speed to go with grades in the high 70.0s in each of the past two years at Appalachian State,” Palazzolo wrote. “The six players on the depth chart behind Henry have combined for just 28 NFL carries, so this looks like another bell-cow season for Henry.
It will be interesting to see how Henry builds off his momentum heading into the 2020 season, and in which ways the Titans are able to make use of Evans, both now and in the long term.
