Derrick Henry is unquestionably one of the most dominant running backs in recent memory.
In his eight seasons with the Tennessee Titans, he reached quadruple-digit rushing yards five times, including a monstrous 2,027 in 2020. He also had double-digit touchdowns from 2018 onwards, including a league-high 17 that he also set in 2020.
But if his Tuesday appearance on The Pivot Podcast is any indication, fans should not expect the soon-to-be Baltimore Raven to bear a successor with girlfriend Adrianna Rivas. Henry told hosts Ryan Clark, Fred Warner, and Channing Crowder (go to 21:29 for the excerpt):
“If I ever have a son, my son ain’t playing running back though. We want to take a stance for the guys who’s already coming up and already in rotation to make it to the league and be able to set something up for them. So when they come into league and have an opportunity to get paid, they can get paid. But as far as my own son, he can’t play running back.”
The Derrick Henry-Lamar Jackson tandem is widely expected to constitute one of the most horrifying rushing pairs in the league – one that only truly elite front sevens will have a realistic chance of stopping.
When the signing was first announced, there were doubts over how well the two backs would mesh. But speaking at the annual league meetings in Orlando, Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh, said that he was hoping for the former Offensive Player of the Year to be nothing less than a very dynamic offensive addition:
“We’ve got a lot of different things that we like to do. A gap, B gap, C gap, D gap, alley, or all the way to the sideline, you want to attack a defense like that, right? That’s important in the run game, and Derrick Henry can attack every single one of those areas just as well.”
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He also expressed relief and joy at having the two-time All-Pro and four-time Pro Bowler as an ally after years of opposing him:
“When you play against a guy, you earn respect for a guy, and we’ve had our hands full trying to stop him. So, it kind of speaks to us. How we want to play and approach the game, so I’m fired up to have him.”
For context, Henry met the Ravens six times (regular season and playoffs) in his career, logging a combined 103 carries for 512 yards and three touchdowns. He went 3-3 in those games.
