What If Derrick Henry Never Left Titans?

It's been a little over nine years since the Tennessee Titans selected Derrick Henry in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft.

Henry is considered to be one of the best running backs of his generation with eight great years in Tennessee. He signed with the Baltimore Ravens for the 2024 season, finishing second in yards.

NFL.com writer Eric Edholm believes Henry is one of the best valued running backs of the past 25 years.

"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. 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," Edholm wrote.

"With 11,423 rushing yards and 106 rushing touchdowns, Henry has already secured his place among the game's best backs ever, in any era. 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 2 024."

Henry was a game-changer for the Titans and his presence was missed last season when the team won just three games.

Tennessee was forced to change its offense last year without the bulldozing back and it certainly hurt the team. The Titans finished 26th in total offense while Henry's Ravens came in at No. 1 as the only team with over 7,000 yards across the 17-game season.

The Ravens probably wouldn't have done as well as they did without Henry and the Titans would have done better. In close games, the Titans would have ran the ball a bit more and killed some clock. That may have led to a few more wins.

If the Titans won a couple more games, they probably wouldn't have had the chance to take Cam Ward with the No. 1 overall pick, which means Will Levis may have entered this season as the starting quarterback.

Every decision in the NFL comes with a line of consequences and the Titans should hope Ward has the same kind of value as Henry, if not more, otherwise letting him go would have been a big mistake.