Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports

Analyst believes Derrick Henry still worthy of ‘superstar’ status

By Michael Gallagher | Last updated Jul 3, 2023 6:15 PM ET

While many national media pundits keep waiting for Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry to have the fall from grace most RBs do as they approach 30, one analyst believes that Henry still has plenty left in the tank.

NFL.com’s Dan Hanzus recently made the case that Henry is one of only four running backs in the NFL worthy of “superstar” status, right behind Nick Chubb, Christian McCaffrey and Jonathan Taylor. It's the fourth straight year Henry has made the list.

“Henry didn't get as much pub in 2022, but his ‘pop the hood’ stats remained elite,” Hanzus wrote. “And he led the league in carries for the third time in four years. In other words—he was as good as ever for a Titans team that was mayonnaise-on-white-bread in all other departments.”

#Titans RB Derrick Henry needs 1,500 rushing yards to become the 5th player in NFL history to reach the mark in four career seasons, joining Barry Sanders (5), Eric Dickerson (4), Edgerrin James (4) and Walter Payton (4).

(Per @NFL Record & Fact Book)
— Easton Freeze (@eastonfreeze) July 3, 2023

To the surprise of many, Henry has a strong bounce-back season in 2022 after recovering from a broken foot that required surgery with metal plates and screws inserted into his foot the season before.

Henry’s 1,538 rushing yards ranked second in the league behind only Josh Jacobs (1,653) and his 13 touchdowns tied for second-most behind Jamaal Williams. Henry also logged 349 carries or more for the second time in the last three years—a category he leads the NFL in since 2019 (1,249).

In fact, if the league only counted the yards Henry accumulated after contact (1,257), he still would have ranked fifth in the NFL in rushing.

Henry has totaled 1,000 or more yards in four of the last five seasons, including a 2,027-yard, 17-touchdown season in 2021. Since taking over as the Titans' starting RB in 2019, Henry has 6,042 rushing yards and 56 rushing touchdowns—both tops in the NFL over that span.

Michael Gallagher

Michael Gallagher is a longtime sports journalist based out of Nashville with a decade of experience covering college football, mixed martial arts and prep sports plus the NFL and NHL — specifically the Tennessee Titans and Nashville Predators. He’s covered several notable sporting events including an AFC Championship game, a Stanley Cup Final, an NHL All-Star Game and an NHL Stadium Series. Some of his past bylines can be found at the Nashville Scene, SB Nation, The Hockey News and Fox Sports Knoxville

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