Titans RB Derrick Henry gets hit with the biggest disrespect of his career
Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry is nearing the end of his NFL career, but he's still an elite NFL player. In 2022, Henry finished second in the NFL in rushing yards with 1,538. He also rushed for 13 touchdowns (his fifth straight season with double-digit rushing touchdowns). Additionally, Henry caught 33 passes for a […]
Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry is nearing the end of his NFL career, but he's still an elite NFL player.
In 2022, Henry finished second in the NFL in rushing yards with 1,538. He also rushed for 13 touchdowns (his fifth straight season with double-digit rushing touchdowns).
Additionally, Henry caught 33 passes for a career-high 398 receiving yards.
Despite the impressive production, Henry is being viewed by some as an afterthought at this stage of his career. That line of thinking has led to Henry's career being devalued by some analysts.
Analyst/podcaster Travis May suggested this week that there are no current running backs on the verge of reaching the Hall of Fame.
May doesn't think any running backs qualify given historical standards.
I'm not about to say that Henry is a sure-fire Hall of Famer, but he's at least in the conversation. And by the time his career is over — whenever that might happen — he might be a sure thing.
Henry currently has 8,335 career rushing yards, 78 career rushing touchdowns, 1,244 career receiving yards, and three career receiving touchdowns (he also has two career passing touchdowns).
According to Pro Football Reference, the average running back in the Hall of Fame has 10,991 rushing yards and 86 rushing touchdowns over 151 games (Henry has played in 102 career games so far).
If Henry plays for four more seasons and averages 925 yards per season, he'll finish with over 12,000 career rushing yards. Every Hall of Fame-eligible running back with over 12,000 career rushing yards is in the Hall of Fame.
Henry also has 732 career rushing yards in the playoffs. If he can return to the postseason, there's a good chance he surpasses 1,000 career rushing yards in the playoffs.
And guess what?
All six running backs with over 1,000 career rushing yards in the playoffs are in the Hall of Fame.
Henry has some work to do to ensure he reaches the Hall of Fame, but to suggest that he's not even in the conversation isn't just disrespectful, it's laughable. If he continues at a reasonably productive pace for the next four seasons, he'll easily have the numbers to get into the Hall of Fame.
