Henry Called 'Modern-Day Jim Brown'

Comparisons for the Tennessee Titans running back and current NFL rushing leader not limited to some of the best offensive players.

NASHVILLE – The more Derrick Henry thunders past NFL records, the more he earns comparisons to the all-time greats.

Another milestone rushing mark may be on tap this Sunday for the Tennessee Titans running back who recently was compared to a true legend, Jim Brown.

Should Henry rush for 131 yards against Indianapolis on Sunday – he’s averaging 124 per game – he would join Brown and Terrell Davis as the only backs to get to at least 1,000 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns in the first eight weeks of the season.

So perhaps it’s fitting that CBS Sports analyst Phil Simms likened the 6-foot-3, 247-pound Henry to the 6-foot-2, 232-pound Brown earlier in the week. A member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Brown ranks 11th all-time with 12,312 rushing yards, despite the fact he played just nine seasons in the league – 1957-1965.

“(Henry) is tall, like Eric Dickerson,” Simms said. “Look at him as he runs – 6-3, (but) he has the power of Earl Campbell. He can run over people, break tackles. He is faster than the other running backs I’m talking about.

“He is the modern-day Jim Brown. When I watch him play, that’s who I see.”

Henry has been the NFL’s rushing leader each of the last two seasons with 1,540 yards in 2019 and 2,027 in 2020. His 869 rushing yards have him atop the pile again so far this year, with Indianapolis’ Jonathan Taylor a distant second at 579 yards. Barring injury, Henry appears well on his way to a third straight rushing title, a feat that’s only been accomplished four times.

In his most recent Football Morning in America column, veteran writer Peter King noted that Brown actually led the league in rushing three straight times on two separate occasions – including five years in a row during one stretch.

“Henry is the offensive Aaron Donald,” King wrote, “on his way to the Hall of Fame even though he’s still very much in mid-career.”

In terms of career yardage and touchdowns, Henry (6,729 yards and 65 TDs) still has a way to go to catch Brown (12,312 yards and 106 TDs).

But there are other statistics in which the two already compare favorably:

• At Seattle earlier this season, Henry became the fourth player in NFL history with 10 career games with at least 150 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. Brown (13 games) is one of three other backs to accomplish that, along with LaDainian Tomlinson (12) and Barry Sanders (10).

• Henry’s eight career touchdown runs of 60 yards or longer are tied with Chris Johnson (eight) and Barry Sanders (eight) for third in NFL history, trailing only Adrian Peterson (15) and Brown (nine).

• In 2020, Henry became the fifth player to lead the NFL in rushing yards, attempts and rushing touchdowns in consecutive seasons. Brown is one of the other four, along with Leroy Kelly, Steve Ban Buren and Bill Paschal, to accomplish that.

Though Brown retired nearly three decades before Henry was born in 1994, Henry knows Brown’s history – and even visited with the now 85-year-old Brown when the Titans played at Cleveland in 2019.

“Growing up, I always loved the running back position,” Henry said Thursday. “As I got older, I used to always watch NFL Network as a kid, and they used to have (former running backs), I used to always those highlights. I’ve seen some Jim Brown. They show some here and there, on TV. They might have shown some when the Browns played on Thursday night (this season).

“But I think he’s an icon, what he did for the game and how he was off the field. So got a lot of respect for Jim Brown, and anytime a running back’s name gets mentioned with his, it should be an honor.”

Needless to say, the Titans back is flattered that his own name now gets referenced with Brown.

“Oh yeah, legend, that’s all I can say,” Henry said of Brown. “He’s a legend. You can see by the way he plays, the stories you hear about him. So anytime your name gets mentioned with his, it’s definitely an honor, for sure.”

Titans offensive coordinator Todd Downing is a student of NFL history as well. He’s not fond of comparing players – even ones separated by over half a century – but Downing does think Henry is headed down a similar path as Brown.

“You know better than to bait me into a comparison,” Downing said with a smile. “(But) I think someday people are going to be looking back at Derrick Henry highlights with the same type of reverence (as Brown). I’ll say that.”

Maybe most importantly for the Titans, opposing defenses are forced to treat Henry like Brown in hopes of containing him.

“Obviously, every time we play the Titans, we make an emphasis on 11 versus one,” Colts defensive lineman DeForest Buckner said. “We’ve got to gang tackle him, knock him sideways or backwards … Obviously Derrick Henry, he’s a different type of guy, a different type of back.”

Just as Brown was.