What is the ceiling of Derrick Henry?

By: Jake Rajala

It’s no secret that Derrick Henry is a freak of nature. He spends unlimited resources fine-tuning his body in the off-season. With that said, the question is: what is the floor and ceiling of Henry?

Henry ran for 1,167 rushing yards in 2023. He led the league in carries at the same time. I believe that Henry is in too good of a scheme for him to run for 1,167 yards right now. In 2022, he ran for 1,538 yards. I would say that figure is a fine floor for him within the next couple of seasons. I believe his doom will come when he stops averaging over 5 YPC and comes back down to the 4 YPC range. As long as Lamar Jackson is his QB and is a threat to run the ball, Henry should be a dynamic complement to him.

Just as Raheem Mostert is playing at 33 years old due to his speed, I believe Henry can play at 33 due to his power.

So, Henry should be a Top-5 RB, but can he run for 2k yards again? I believe he can. Henry had the most broken tackles last season. Furthermore, he had the most yards after contact. Let it be known that Saquon Barkly and not Henry had the most yards before contact. Henry was second, however.

Adrian Peterson was a very imposing RB in his early 30s. Henry won’t be the first or last RB to shine at 31 years old.

King Henry will wear a defense down more than a RB by committee. He needs to be constantly fed the ball. I’d love to see him get many touches in the fourth quarter, especially. He isn’t a receiving back. I’d like to see them reel in a pass catching back and feed the scat back more touches, when Henry is on his last legs (which should be 2-3 more seasons away).