Derrick Henry's viral workout helps dissipate biggest question mark ahead of NFL free agency
Derrick Henry is one of the biggest names ahead of the 2024 NFL free agency and there's no questioning why. A former Heisman Trophy Winner, Henry has averaged a whopping 4.7 yards per attempt in his career while averaging 1,188 yards per season plus 11.3 touchdowns per year. The dude just keeps getting it done. […]
Derrick Henry is one of the biggest names ahead of the 2024 NFL free agency and there's no questioning why.
A former Heisman Trophy Winner, Henry has averaged a whopping 4.7 yards per attempt in his career while averaging 1,188 yards per season plus 11.3 touchdowns per year.
The dude just keeps getting it done. In 2023, he ran for 1,167 yards despite playing behind one of the league's worst offensive lines.
And yet, Henry is dealing with a huge question mark: Is being 30 years old going to lead to a huge decline in his performance? Time and time again, we've seen some of the best running backs in the game regress around this age. The below graph from a study made by Northwestern Sports Analytics Group helps illustrate that by just looking at statistical output of a running back. It depicts how often a RB gets a Top 20 season by age.
The hope for whoever signs Henry though, is that he's an outlier. After all, he's nicknamed The King for a reason.
Well, the latest Henry workout video should help dissipate those question marks. The Tennessee Titans' pending free agent has become known for his offseason training methods, which show just how crazy of an athlete he really is.
Even if it's only a workout, I gotta tell you: He just doesn't look like an old player doing that stuff, does he?
Pair that with the fact that his film backs up that he's still the same guy and I'm not sure how you can bet that he's about to decline as a player.
Derrick Henry 2024 contract projection
A to Z Sports projects Derrick Henry to sign the top RB deal in this year's free agency class despite Saquon Barkley and Josh Jacobs also set to become free agents. Below is a summary of our projection.
Henry will be entering his age 30 season which is where most running backs fall off – if they haven’t already. This, combined with the question still surrounding the true value of running backs in a league that is increasingly pass-first, are big factors moving forward.
There is still reason for hope that King Henry can continue to perform well enough as a feature back, though. His missed tackle forced rate is still hovering around 20% and he still ranks in the top-half of the league in most second-level measures of running back performance. A team could make a small-length bet on getting the last out of his amazing career.2 yrs $20M, $10.0M APY, $12M fully GTD
Year One Cap Hit: $5 million
