Ravens RB Could Shape Entire NFL Season

Could Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry shape the upcoming season?

Jon Alfano | Jul 19, 2024

RB Derrick Henry: Signed by Baltimore Ravens (previous team: Tennessee Titans) / Andrew Nelles / USA TODAY NETWORK

In this story:

Baltimore Ravens

In just his first season with the Baltimore Ravens, star running back Derrick Henry could shape not just his new team's offense, but the league as a whole.

ESPN's Dan Graziano included Henry on a list of 10 people (players and coaches) who will shape the NFL for the next year.

"Is Henry the missing piece of the roster that will finally get Lamar Jackson and the Ravens past the Chiefs and into the Super Bowl? Baltimore has been the league's top rushing offense -- by a whopping 27 yards per game -- over the past five seasons, but its marquee offseason addition was a veteran running back," Graziano writes. "The Ravens' hope is that Henry, with his punishing running style, can be a consistent focal point of their run game and a fourth-quarter finisher in games where they have a lead.

"Henry is 30 years old, an age at which running backs often are generally well into their decline phase. But considering that he is coming off yet another 1,000-plus-yard season and his sixth straight campaign with at least 12 TDs and an average of 4.2 yards per carry or better, he's also a unique player who could well defy traditional decline timetables. If so, he could be just what the Ravens need.

Henry was a dominant force over his eight seasons with the Tennessee Titans, as he has 9,502 rushing yards, 90 rushing touchdowns, four Pro Bowl selections and an Offensive Player of the Year award under his belt. Now he joins a Baltimore team that already boasted the league's best rushing offense, and his physicality along with Jackson's elusiveness should make this a fantastic pairing.

Henry may be the only current Raven on this list, but former Baltimore defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald, now the head coach of the Seattle Seahawks, cracked the list as well.

"Macdonald, who turned 37 last month, has the difficult task of succeeding Seattle coaching legend Pete Carroll, but there are folks around the league who believe the Seahawks might just have found a defensive version of McVay -- a coaching prodigy with the leadership skills to maintain Seattle's winning culture without skipping a beat."

For a Ravens team that's firmly all-in, Henry's performance will go a long way in determining the Ravens' success.

Make sure you bookmark Baltimore Ravens on SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!

Published Jul 19, 2024

JON ALFANO