Since being selected 45th overall in the second round of the 2016 NFL draft, Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry has been an unstoppable force. Breaking off long runs and stiff-arming opponents have become regular occurrences in his highlight reel.
The Alabama product played in 30 games in his first two seasons, but had just four starts and played second fiddle to DeMarco Murray.
During the 2017 season, the two running backs split carries nearly 50-50, with Henry outrushing the veteran running back. During the offseason, the Titans released Murray, giving way to the former Heisman winner.
In his first year as the starting running back, Henry rushed for 1,059 yards and 12 touchdowns in the 2018 season but still had to contend with Dion Lewis taking touches from him.
Over the next two years, the Yulee, Florida native fully took the reins of the rushing attack and ran through and over everything en route to a combined 3,567 rushing yards on a league-high 681 carries.
Henry led the league in rushing yards in both the 2019 and 2020 seasons, including a 2000-plus-yard effort and an AFC Offensive Player of the Year award in the latter campaign.
Going one step further, nobody in the National Football League has rushed for more yards than Henry since 2017, amassing 6,307 yards.
The next closest is Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott with 5,755 yards, and Dalvin Cook is in third with 4,820 yards. Here’s the complete list of top rushing performers and their respective yards since 2017:
Derrick Henry has been dominant for YEARS đź‘‘ pic.twitter.com/De9BbIietY
— FanDuel (@FanDuel) May 31, 2022
Elliott and Henry were selected in the same draft class, but the former was a starter from Day 1, collecting a league-leading 1,631 rushing yards in 2016.
Both Cook and Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb were taken in the 2018 draft, so Henry has a slight advantage over them being drafted two years earlier. But, again, the Titans’ superstar running back waited two years to get the lion’s share of carries.
Either way, it’s an even more incredible feat for Henry when you consider he also had his 2021 season cut short due to a foot injury. He still finished in the top-10 in the NFL in rushing yards (937) despite not playing after Week 8 of the regular season.
Henry returned for the Titans’ postseason game against the Cincinnati Bengals, rushing for 62 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries.
The Titans tailback is expected to be 100 percent for the 2022 regular season, and he will look to put up crazy numbers again in the face of doubt about his future viability thanks to the aforementioned injury.
