NFL Analysis
9/30/24
5 min read
Baltimore Ravens RB Derrick Henry Is Doing Things No NFL Running Back Has Done Before
Baltimore Ravens RB Derrick Henry is doing things the league has never seen before.
Despite entering his ninth season and having more than 2,000 career rushing attempts, Henry is on pace for the best season of his career.
He was the star of Sunday night's 35-10 victory against the Buffalo Bills, rushing 24 times for 199 yards with two total touchdowns, including this 87-yard score on the first play from scrimmage for the Ravens.
Derrick Henry.
— Tyler Brooke (@TylerDBrooke) September 30, 2024
That's it. That's the tweet. pic.twitter.com/Gp4NMl2BDp
Through four games, Henry leads the NFL with 480 rushing yards and is tied for the lead with five touchdowns on the ground. He also averages a career-high 6.0 yards per carry and is on pace for more than 2,200 total yards and 25 total touchdowns.
None of this should be possible, but Henry is on his way to the best year of his NFL career.
Henry Is A True Outlier
There isn't another running back in the modern era that has done what Henry is doing right now.
Henry leads the NFL with 12.7 expected points added on rushing plays. He's also tied for second in the league with 20 carries with four-plus yards after contact, behind only Jordan Mason's 26 such runs.
It's not just that Henry is dominating at all levels as a runner; it's the sheer dominance he's having given his workload. He is 38th in NFL history with 2,110 career carries, and only 42 players in the league's history have ever surpassed the 2,000-carry mark.
Historically, 1,800 carries have been the mark where running backs start to fall off of a cliff from an efficiency standpoint. Even some of the most famous backs in NFL history have seen sharp declines in production once they've reached that milestone.
Shaun Alexander is one of the most famous examples of this. After winning MVP with a league-leading 27 rushing touchdowns and 1,880 yards in 2007, he averaged just 3.48 yards per carry for the rest of his career, flaming out quickly after reaching his peak.
Instead of slowing down or even showing hints of slowing down, Henry is full go through four games in 2024. According to TruMedia, only 15 players have debuted and had 2,000 career carries since 2000. Once reaching that mark, Henry has averaged 6.0 yards per carry and a touchdown on every 15.9 carries.
Marshawn Lynch is second in both metrics from 2,000 rushing attempts and onward but averaged just 4.2 yards per carry, with a touchdown on every 25.2 attempts.
Henry is having unprecedented success.
Henry's pace will put him in the top 30 all-time in rushing attempts and top 20 in career rushing yards. He's also one touchdown away from becoming the 25th player in NFL history with 100 total rushing and receiving touchdowns.
It's not like Henry is trying to avoid contact at 30 years old, either. Not only is he tied for second with 20 carries of four-plus yards after contact, but he's also consistently running between the tackles for solid chunks of yardage instead of relying solely on big plays. His rushing chart from Week 4 shows as much.
It's unclear just how much longer Henry can keep playing. Frank Gore is widely considered the most durable running back of the modern era, with 3,735 career carries, but he had a completely different body type than Henry. While Gore was a compact 5-foot-9 bruiser, Henry is a monster of a human at 6-foot-2 and 247 pounds.
Henry is adhering to a strict diet that includes intermittent fasting, no fried foods, and no gluten.
Whatever he's continuing to do seems to be working because he's dominating at an age and mileage that other running backs can't comprehend.
Henry Is Offseason's Prized Signing
Of all of the free agents who signed to new teams this offseason, Henry has been far and away the best.
The Ravens signed the former Tennessee Titans star to a two-year, $16 million deal back in March to revive their rushing attack. According to Spotrac, he only accounts for just more than $5 million against the cap in 2024 and then $10.9 million in 2024.
That's an absolute bargain for the No. 1 running back in the league. Other free agent running backs signed much larger deals and don't have the same production.
Saquon Barkley signed a three-year, $37.75 million deal with the Philadelphia Eagles around the same time as Henry signed in Baltimore. He's also having a strong year with 435 rushing yards and five total touchdowns, but it's coming with a bigger price tag.
Even Josh Jacobs signed a higher-paying deal at four years and $48 million with the Green Bay Packers. Although he's seventh in the league with 329 rushing yards, he has yet to find the end zone.
Other non-running backs could be considered in the debate for the best free-agent signing of 2024. Xavier McKinney has four straight games with an interception for the Packers, while Jonathan Greenard has helped reshape the Minnesota Vikings defensive front with four sacks.
However, Henry is giving the Ravens a much-needed identity on offense. Instead of having to rely solely on Lamar Jackson to make plays as a dual-threat quarterback, Henry is creating chunk yardage and opening up the offense for the rest of the team.
In fact, Henry and Jackson are becoming such an unstoppable force that they could make NFL history.
The Ravens have never had a running back playing this well with Henry's mileage. Then again, no one has.
