After the display of dominance that Derrick Henry has shown in the last 2 plus seasons and a 2,000-yard season in 2020, I began thinking about his career trajectory and how Henry is tracking towards a Hall of Fame Career.
With that in mind, we take Derrick Henry’s first 5 seasons in the NFL and where he is statistically vs. Franchise greats and mostly Hall of Famers.
In this list we sample the first five-year statistics like carries, rushing yardage, yards per carry average, total touchdowns and where they are available, explosive plays over 40 yards.
In his first five seasons Derrick Henry’s stat line looks like this:
CARRIES RUSH YDS YDS PER CARRY RUSHING TD EX PLAYS
1182 5860 5.0 55 11 rushes of 40+
REC TD 3 Rec of 40 +
3
2000 YARD CLUB MEMBER (23) 100 YARD GAMES SO FAR (5) 200 YD GAMES)
Back-to-back Rushing Titles 2019 & 2020. 2020 Offensive Player of the Year
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Let’s start with OILERS/TITANS FRANCHISE numbers:
Earl Campbell: 1991 Pro Football Hall of Fame (1934 yds rushing in 1980)
CARRIES RUSH YDS YDS PER CARRY RUSHING TD 100 YD GAMES
1561 6995 4.31 57 39
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Eddie George: Franchise All-Time leading rusher (36 Career 100 YD GAMES)
CARRIES RUSH YDS YDS PER CARRY RUSHING TD EX PLAYS
1763 6874 3.9 42 4 rushes of 40+
REC TD 1 Rec of 40+
8
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Chris Johnson: 2,000 YARD CLUB MEMBER (35 CAREER 100 YD GAMES)
CARRIES RUSH YDS YDS PER CARRY RUSHING TD EX PLAYS
1463 6891 4.66 44 18 rushes of 40+
REC TD 3 Rec of 40+
4
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The first thing that immediately stands out with Derrick Henry’s numbers, is the yards per carry at 5.0. You will see below the ONLY other back that has that number through five years of play is Jim Brown. Another point is how Henry has much fewer carries, and mostly due to Demarco Murray being the bell cow in his first two years. Lastly, the explosive plays. It’s no secret Chris Johnson would be a standout in this category, but the fact that Henry has over (10) 40+ yard rushes including a 99 yarder and (5) 200-yard rushing performances. He’s won the regular season rushing title in consecutive years and was the 2020 Offensive Player of the year….ALREADY! Also, Chris Johnson, LaDainian Tomlinson and Derrick Henry are the three backs on this list that missed just 1 game in their first five seasons. Eddie George and Jim Brown played in every game of their first five.
Now we look at many of the top rushers in NFL history, most of which are in the Hall of Fame. These stats represent their production in their first five seasons in the NFL.
Walter Payton: Pro Football HOF Held All-Time rushing record for many years.
CARRIES RUSH YDS YDS PER CARRY RUSHING TD REC TD
1548 6296 4.4 59 4
(4 OF HIS FIRST FIVE SEASONS WERE 300+ CARRIES)
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Jim Brown: Pro Football HOF Considered one of the All-Time greats
CARRIES RUSH YDS YDS PER CARRY RUSHING TD
1269 6926 5.12 57
The NFL only played 12 games per season in his first for years before expanding to 14 games in 1961
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Barry Sanders: Pro Football HOF 2,000 Yard Club
CARRIES RUSH YDS YDS PER CARRY RUSHING TD EX PLAYS
1432 6789 4.74 55 10 rushes of 40+
REC TD 1 rec of 40+
5
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Emmitt Smith: Pro Football HOF NFL ALL-TIME Leading Rusher
CARRIES RUSH YDS YDS PER CARRY RUSHING TD EX PLAYS
1630 7183 4.42 71 8 rushes of 40+
REC TD 2 rec of 40+
4
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LaDainian Tomlinson: Pro Football HOF
CARRIES RUSH YDS YDS PER CARRY RUSHING TD EX PLAYS
1702 7361 4.34 72 11 rushes of 40+
REC TD 6 rec of 40+
8
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O.J. Simpson: Pro Football HOF 2,000 YARD CLUB
CARRIES RUSH YDS YDS PER CARRY RUSHING TD REC TD
1108 5181 4.48 30 3
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Eric Dickerson: Pro Football HOF 2,000 YARD CLUB
CARRIES RUSH YDS YDS PER CARRY RUSHING TD REC TD
1748 8256 4.7 61 2
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Adrian Peterson: 2,000 YARD CLUB 297 YDS RUSHING IN SINGLE GAME
CARRIES RUSH YDS YDS PER CARRY RUSHING TD EX PLAYS
1406 6752 4.84 64 17 rushes of 40+
REC TD 3 rec of 40+
3
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Marshall Faulk: Pro Football HOF
CARRIES RUSH YDS YDS PER CARRY RUSHING TD EX PLAYS
1389 5320 3.78 42 8 rushes of 40+
REC TD 5 rec of 40+
9
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Frank Gore: 16,000 YARDS RUSHING (3rd in NFL HISTORY)
CARRIES RUSH YDS YDS PER CARRY RUSHING TD EX PLAYS
1168 5561 4.72 32 13 rushes of 40+
REC TD 2 rec of 40+
7
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Terrell Davis: Pro Football HOF 2,000 YARD CLUB
CARRIES RUSH YDS YDS PER CARRY RUSHING TD EX PLAYS
1410 6624 4.44 58 10 rushes of 40+
REC TD
5
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Edgerrin James: Pro Football HOF
CARRIES RUSH YDS YDS PER CARRY RUSHING TD EX PLAYS
1494 6172 4.14 42 5 rushes of 40+
REC TD
10
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After taking a look at the list of greats, Frank Gore and Terrell Davis have the closest stats akin to Derrick Henry’s current stats through the first five seasons of play. Not bad company when you consider that Terrell Davis is in the Hall Of Fame and Frank Gore will eventually be in the Hall. The scary thing is (and this is important to the Hall of Fame conversation) the numbers he’s put up in the postseason already is impressive.
DERRICK HENRY IN SIX PLAYOFF GAMES:
CARRIES RUSH YDS YDS PER CARRY RUSHING TD RECEIVING
136 670 4.9 3 14 TARGETS
13 CATCHES
88 YARDS
6.8 YDS PER
Also, that jump pass to WR Corey Davis in Baltimore in the 2019 playoffs for a TD.
The stats are stackable as evidenced by Frank Gore, but what did the player do to make a difference to his team in a window or windows of time? Henry has 2 rushing titles, a 2,000 season, Offensive Player of the year award, has helped lead his team to the playoffs 3 of the last 4 years. Monster performances and being an integral part of the Titans in this window are what becomes the basis of Hall of Fame Discussion. If Derrick Henry continues with numbers and team success of anything similar in the coming seasons, Henry might find his place in Canton Ohio one day in the future.
