In this day and age, and with the way players have evolved, running backs with Derrick Henry's style shouldn't be this great for this long. Phrases like 'freak of nature' come to mind. Like a fine wine, The King gets better with age.
He turned 31 years old this past January. That's often when other NFL stars are led out to pasture or the glue factory. Henry is a different breed. For the Baltimore Ravens star, 30 truly is the new 20.
He ran for 1,921 yards and 16 touchdowns last season. That was his best effort since joining the 2,000-yard club during a 2020 campaign during which he ran to paydirt a career-best 17 times.
ESPN's Jeremy Fowler recently asked executives, coaches, and scouts to rank the NFL's top 10 running backs ahead of the 2025 season. As many would expect, after a historic season, Philadelphia Eagles star Saquon Barkley landed on top. Derrick Henry was right behind him at number two.
"He'll slow down at some point, but he's got elite body composition and elite work ethic. He's a monster. No one wants to tackle him, and then when he wears you down, that's when he breaks off that big run."
Those were the words of an unnamed AFC executive, but Folwer's take must be highlighted as well.
"Somehow, Henry is proving more efficient with age. Henry's 5.9 yards per rush last season represented the highest mark by a player with 250 carries in a season since Adrian Peterson in 2012 (6.0). And, his 13 career games with 150 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns tie Jim Brown for the most in NFL history."
Henry eyes history this season. He will pass Jim Brown and Walter Payton on the all-time list for rushing TDs, placing him fourth all-time behind Adrian Peterson (120) and Marcus Allen (123), LaDanian Tomlinson (145), and Emmitt Smith (164).
Rounding out the rest of Fowler's top ten are Jahmyr Gibbs, Bijan Robinson, Christian McCaffrey, Josh Jacobs, Jonathan Taylor, James Cook, Joe Mixon, and Alvin Kamara.
