Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry is one of the toughest in the league for opposing defenses to go up against.
He proved that point perfectly in 2019, finishing out the regular season with the league’s rushing title over Nick Chubb with a total of 1,540 yards.
He was at the heart of the Titans’ offensive efforts as they nearly made a run for the Super Bowl that ended in a 35-24 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game.
Pro Football Focus’ Ben Linsey ranked Henry as the third-most elusive back in the NFL, behind Josh Jacobs and ahead of Alvin Kamara. The aforementioned Chubb topped the list.
“You’re not going to mistake Henry’s highlight reel for Barry Sanders’, but you can be sure that defenders aren’t relishing the opportunity to tackle him,” Linsey wrote. “He’s an absolute unit — a player unlike any other running back in the NFL right now. Henry’s rushing numbers over the past several seasons reflect that. He joins Chubb as the only running back to average at least 4 yards after contact per rush attempt since 2017, and his 136 total missed tackles forced on the ground are 13 more than any other running back over that time frame. His broken tackles per touch numbers aren’t quite on par with the likes of Chubb and Jacobs, but there are few backs who can shed tackles like Henry.”
The Titans kept Henry on board by placing a franchise tag on him this offseason, and will look for continued momentum from him as they look to expand upon last year’s success this fall.
