Only eight players in the history of the NFL have to rush to 2,000 yards, and the Tennessee Titans drafted two of them. Chris Johnson accomplished this in 2009 (2,006 yards), and Derrick Henry did it in 2020, dashing at a speed of 2,027 yards. Henry is ready to return to the Titans’ backyard after playing in just nine games, including a division lose ring to Cincinnati last season.
“Whatever it takes to win,” Henry said to reporter about his workload. “My mindset has always been like that. If that’s the type of game (with a lot of people carrying), it’s the type of game. Then go from there”.
Henry led the league in his 2,000-yard running season. He made 219 times last year in just eight regular-season games. Derrick placed 10th in the NFL in efforts and miss Tennessee’s last nine games. So it’s safe to say he would have likely led the league again if he hadn’t been sidelined with a foot injury.
Now it’s time to move forward, as Henry commented on his workload. Derrick is averaging 27 attempts per game in 2021. Colts’ Jonathan Taylor played in all 17 games last season, winning the top-flight title and putting in the most effort. He averages 19.5 times per game. Henry’s workload is ridiculous. During his 2000 yards, Henry averaged 23.6 dashes per game.
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It’s well-publicized how much of a throwback Henry is to the days of ground and pound football. Henry and Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson rushed the same number of times per game in their respective record-setting campaigns. Terrell Davis averaged one more carry (24.5) than Henry and Dickerson in his 2,000-yard year of ‘98. Barry Sanders set a mark for the lowest number of attempts in a 2,000-yard season with 20.9.
With some members of the 2,000-yard club, we began seeing a considerable drop-off within the season or two following their accomplishment. Sanders was the oldest to do it at 29 years of age, and we never got to see a massive decline because he only played one more year after that. Sanders retired at 30 and rushed for nearly 1,500 yards in his final season for Detroit.
Davis fell off a cliff following his 2,000-yard season, primarily due to injuries. The former league and Super Bowl MVP played in 17 games from 1999-2001 for the Broncos. He was out of the NFL by 2002. As fast when he climbs to the top, the fall happens faster.
Jamal Lewis sped away at 2,066 yards in 2003 and returned to only hit the 1,000 yard mark the following year. We can partly blame Lewis missing 4 games in ’04, but in ’05 he played in 15 games and hit a total of 906 yards on the ground. Lewis had another big year in ’07 with Cleveland dashing over 1,300 yards. But it was a boom or bust situation for him after ’03.
Adrian Peterson was another returner who started falling after dashing 2,000 yards, even if it didn’t feel like it at the time. In ’12, Peterson ran 2097 yards, 2,105 yards behind Dickerson’s top spot. AP spiked by a modest 1,266 the following year. He had another year of rush in ’15 after sitting out almost the entire ’14 suspension after being charged with child abuse.
Peterson dashed to 1,485 in ’15 and only crossed 1,000 yards again after that. Most people think that AP will never slow down, especially after he comes back from ACL trauma, but father’s time is really unbeatable.
Where Henry is concerned, it’s hard to say what he’ll do this year, but if his workload continues down the same path as it did before the leg injury, I don’t know if he’ll be considered a one of the top rush runners for how long the tournament. Any injury to the lower extremities isn’t good for running backwards, but it’s even worse when the guy is 6-foot-3, weighing 250 lbs.
But with Ryan Tannehill in midfield, it’s easy to see why the Titans would torment Henry the way they do. Tannehill isn’t bad, but he’s not a guy you can put the game on his back, and he carries you to the finish line on his back. Henry is, and if the Titans get over that hump after the season, it’ll be on his back.
