BY GAVIN MURILLO
class of 2024, ggmurill@usc.edu
After an impressive 27-3 performance against the Kansas City Chiefs in week 7, Tennessee Titans’ running back Derrick Henry has continued to make a compelling push for the NFL MVP as the W’s continue to pile up. Averaging over 4.6 yards per rushing attempt, Henry has already scored 10 touchdowns this season, rushing for over 100 yards in 5 of his last 6 games. Yet, even with this high powered ground and pound approach, Henry will have to continue his outrageous performance if he hopes to catch up with the quick-footed Kyler Murray, as well as the living legend of Tom Brady in this year's MVP race.
Since 2001, only three running backs have come away with the coveted MVP title, with Adrian Peterson’s 2012 season marking the last time a non-quarterback has come away with the hardware. However, due to Henry’s prolific performance across the first few weeks of the season, the Titans’ star power rusher is making a strong case both physically and statistically as to why he can be the next great RB to take the cake.
Currently, Henry sits atop the NFL rushing leaderboards with a combined total of 869 rush yards in only 7 games. Along with this, Henry also leads the league in rushing attempts with 191, serving as a clear indication of just how important he is to the success of Tennessee’s overall offensive production. This year alone, Henry has rushed against some of the NFL’s premiere defenses such as the red hot 7-0 Arizona Cardinals, along with the up-and-coming Buffalo Bills led by the emerging star of Quarterback Josh Allen. In both these games combined, Henry rushed for slightly over 200 yards, along with 3 touchdowns respectively. Yet, besides a headscrating OT loss to the New York Jets in early in the season, Henry has outright dominated the lesser defenses of the league at every chance he gets.
And still, Henry somehow always seems ready to run over whatever person in front of him… regardless of the color of their jersey. Being recognized for his trademark stiff-arm that sends defenders into a different dimension, Henry is no stranger to the physicality of the game. From this season alone, 587 of his 869 yards have come after contact, over 200 yards higher than the league's second-highest rusher, Cleveland Browns RB Nick Chubb. However, even with his prolific physical ability, Henry is still faced with overcoming the obstacle of being a running back, in a league that is progressively shifting towards highly-dynamic, pass-driven quarterback play.
In the Titans dominant performance over the Kansas City Chiefs this past weekend, Henry accumulated over 86 yards on the ground but did not rush for any touchdowns. Instead, he decided to pass for one! Although oddly specific, this passing touchdown actually significantly increased Henry’s chances of making a run at the coveted MVP title, as the last 8 MVP’s have had at least one passing touchdown. With this daring jump pass that gave the Titans their first score, Henry became only the second player in the Super Bowl era to have both 10 rushing touchdowns and a passing touchdown in the first seven game stretch of the season. Interestingly, the only other player to ever accomplish this feat was none other than an equally as dominant running back, by the name of LaDanian Tomlinson in 2005. A year later, Tomlinson won the 2006 NFL MVP award.
Some say that history repeats itself, and others say that numbers never lie. But in this rare case of the 6’3 speeding giant fans call “King Henry” both of these assumptions may turn out to be equally as true. While only time will tell whether or not Henry is able to accomplish this feat, one thing is for certain...that stiff-arm is for real.
