Ravens RB Among Best Draft Steals This Century

The former second-round pick out of Alabama already boasts a Hall of Fame resume which earned him the No. 2 spot on NFL.com Eric Edholm's list of list of the top five best draft values of the millennium at running back.

"Henry initially had his share of doubters, as a king-sized back seemingly from an era of the game's past, thrust into a league that was obsessed with throwing the football," Edholm wrote. "But he forged his way into becoming one of the NFL's elite backs, blessed with rare power, size and good durability, but also the kind of sweet feet you rarely see in a 247-pound frame."

The only running back ranked ahead of Henry on the list is San Francisco 49ers legend and future Hall of Famer Frank Gore who played 16 years in the league. He entered the league as a third-rounder in 2005 and went on to be one of the most durable and productive running backs ever with his 16,000 career rushing yards and 81 rushing touchdowns ranking third and 20th all-time, respectively.

Through nine seasons in the league, Henry has compiled 11,423 rushing yards which is the 19th-most all-time and 106 rushing touchdowns which is tied with the late Hall of Famer Jim Brown. Now that he is signed through the 2027 season, he has three more years and just over 1,300 yards to go to crack the top 10 all-time rushing list and is only four rushing touchdowns away from the top five all-time list.

"Henry has already secured his place among the game's best backs ever, in any era," Edholm wrote. "After working in a timeshare his first two seasons, Henry established himself as one of the great lead backs in modern football, helping revive a dormant Titans franchise, then giving the Ravens a boost in his first season in Baltimore in 2024."

The former Heisman Trophy winner spent the first two years of his career splitting time with retired three-time Pro Bowler DeMarco Murray before becoming not only the full-time starter but the focal point through which the entire Titans' offense flowed. In his first year with the Ravens, the two-time league rushing champion nearly had the title for the third time in his career after spearheading the NFL's top-ranked ground game by rushing for nearly 2,000 yards and tying for the league lead in rushing touchdowns with 16.

Even though he has passed the dreaded 30-plus-year-old threshold when most running backs either begin to tail off in their production and effectiveness or completely decline rapidly, Henry has shown no such signs of slowing down. While he plays with the physicality of a throwback running back and isn't nearly as dangerous of a pass catcher out of the backfield, his rare blend of size at 6'2" and 252 pounds and breakaway speed make him a home-run threat on any given play.

"Henry might not possess the receiving chops of some of his colleagues, but his value is above reproach," Edholm wrote. "He's led the NFL in rushing yards twice (2019 and 2020), including a 2,027-yard season in 2020, when he earned the Offensive Player of the Year award. He's also thrown four TD passes in his illustrious career, making him one of the game's true unicorns."