Derrick Henry must be observed to be fully appreciated. Statistics cannot sum up its combination of size, speed and power. It is no exaggeration to say that it is unique.
And yet his figures were too in 2020.
No player in NFL history has achieved that many yards (2,027) and touchdowns (17) in the same season. The declining Tennessee Titans produced the eighth 2,000-yard campaign ever and the fifth-highest total.
It all resulted in Henry being named 2020 AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year, as announced on Saturday NFL Awards ceremony.
The 6-foot-3, 247-pound powerhouse dominated from start to finish, rushing to 116 yards in Week 1 and 250 in Week 17 to break the 2K barrier. He had eight more 100-yard runs in between, all averaging just over a touchdown per game. His last count made him just the fourth RB to rush for 1,500 yards and 15 touchdowns in consecutive seasons.
Such production was not new to Henry before entering the competition in 2016. After all, the Heisman winner had reached 2,000 meters in college and high school. But his rise to the best football running game was unforeseeable. He only gained 1,234 meters in his first two seasons when he split time with DeMarco Murray. Henry’s escape could be traced to an unforgettable 99-yard rumble against the Jaguars late in his third year. He’s been a workhorse ever since, breaking the law of diminishing returns in the process.
His fifth NFL season was an ode to old-time football. Henry’s 378 tries were the highest in six seasons. But its volume was not for nothing. He averaged a career-high 5.4 yards per carry, becoming only third in the past decade to amass 1,650 rushing yards. He also tied, broke, and set the league record for 200-yard, two TD games. The previous figure was three. Henry did it three times in 12 weeks.
Tennessee rode that train to its best record (11-5) and first AFC South title in 12 years.
In an age when the running back’s worth has been diminished by increasingly efficient passing fouls, few players in any position are more valuable than Henry. Over the past year, his output has been gigantic.