Could the Titans draft a Derrick Henry replacement?

Derrick Henry has been arguably the most dominant rusher in the NFL over the past three years, but the shelf life for a running back is known to be quite short. Following a season in which Henry missed several games due to injury, is it time for the Tennessee Titans to start thinking about his replacement?

Titans general manager Jon Robinson was asked last week if the team has any plans to draft a running back as Henry insurance. He spoke about needing depth at every position.

“You’re going to need as many good football players at every position as possible,” Robinson said, via Ben Arthur of The Tennesseean. “So, we don’t go into a draft scouting this particular position or that particular position because we may need that position when looking at the depth chart.”

Henry had 219 carries while appearing in just nine games last season. That is an insane workload. He had 378 carries in 16 games the year before. Some wonder if the Jones fracture in his right foot was merely bad luck or the result of Henry being overworked. Either way, it would not be a surprise to see the Titans scale back his workload a bit going forward.

D’onta Foreman rushed for 566 yards on 133 carries in Henry’s absence last year. He then signed with the Carolina Panthers in free agency. Even if Tennessee plans to give Henry 300-plus carries again in 2022, having a contingency plan in place is necessary.