Now the 11th all-time leading rusher in NFL History passing Marcus Allen, Edg James, Marshall Faulk and Jim Brown last night. Tony Dorsett is next. About 400 yards away.
Derrick Henry Passed James, Faulk, Allen, & Brown last night
- Thread starter CajunCrimson
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I think he’ll get there before the season is over.
He’s avg 80 YPG and has 7 more games.
He always has the ability for a monster game too that would get him real close.
He is also already in the Top 5 for Rushing TD’s passing Sweetness.
He’s 7 TD’s from Tying Adrian Peterson for 4th.
He’s absolutely a 1st Ballot HOF and one of the Greatest RB’s ever.
I guess we could even say the Best NFL Alabama player ever… certainly the best NFL Career.
OMG. When I read this, dyslexia kicked in and I read Derek Henry has Passed last night!
That goodness I read that wrong. Roll Tide and congrats Derek!!!!
That goodness I read that wrong. Roll Tide and congrats Derek!!!!
Without looking it up I don’t even know.
But he’s Top 5-10 at his position in 2 major categories.
I don’t think any other Bama player can statistically claim the same.
I think that's relevant when looking at the resume of NFL QBs since MVPs almost exclusively go to them and, particularly in the modern NFL, so much of team's success is determined by the performance of the QB. I don't think it's nearly as relevant when comparing RBs in the NFL. If your argument is for Shaun Alexander as the best Alabama NFL back, then I don't think it's particularly close between the two. As a good as Alexander was in a 4-5 year stretch, he didn't have the sustained success that Henry has had.
No knock on DH, I do think he's the best Alabama RB in NFL history and a 1st ballot HF. But...
Don Hudson is considered by many as the 2nd best all time WR behind Jerry Rice
John Hannah is still considered by most as the best NFL guard ever
Ozzie Newsom was considered to be the top TE of his day.
And depending on who you ask, and how they rate them, some consider Bart Star as a top 5 QB (5 titles, only NFL QB with 3 consecutive, led NFL in passing all 3 years, citing "ColdHardFootballFacts.com" but unfortunately that article is now behind pay wall)
Obviously these are cross era comparisons, and especially with skill players the debate starts with what everyone considers important first, because that changes the answer.
Don Hudson is considered by many as the 2nd best all time WR behind Jerry Rice
John Hannah is still considered by most as the best NFL guard ever
Ozzie Newsom was considered to be the top TE of his day.
And depending on who you ask, and how they rate them, some consider Bart Star as a top 5 QB (5 titles, only NFL QB with 3 consecutive, led NFL in passing all 3 years, citing "ColdHardFootballFacts.com" but unfortunately that article is now behind pay wall)
Obviously these are cross era comparisons, and especially with skill players the debate starts with what everyone considers important first, because that changes the answer.
I love me some Derrick Henry (never understood the second round draft pick), but to me, the best NFL player to ever come out of Bama is John Hannah. He was the standard every other lineman was compared to and he was significantly better than everyone else at his position during his playing career.
DH will go down as the greatest running back of all time when you look at his success at all levels.
I remember when Henry was a freshman and a guy on a Bama forum that was totally different from this one. It was like the wild, wild west. There was a guy on there who insisted that he needed to play LB. He said he was too slow. He lost that argument when he broke an 80 run against Arkansas.
I'm a bit confused. ESPN has Henry at 12,230 yards for his career, which is 15th place all time. That puts him 82 yards behind Jim Brown in 11th place. He could pass Marcus Allen, Edgerrin James, Marshall Faulk, and Jim Brown next weekend. Are you from the future? 
What you’re saying is that in a league that doesn’t give running backs MVPs, when they do win one it’s not that big of a deal?
Henry is incredibly healthy but you have to wonder how many more years he's got to climb the all-time leader board. Assuming he plays next season (2026-27) he'll likely end up around 5th or 6th, but 10+ years at RB is a hard life...
When I look at at the top of the all time rushing list, particularly Smith and Payton, I think it is important to look at how today’s NFL game has moved away from the RB/Run game as the central component of the offense the past many years. So much so that today, unless a RB is a virtual “can’t miss”, RB’s often get bypassed for QB’s and WR’s in the early rounds of the NFL draft
Not trying to takeaway from Smith, Payton, Gore, Sanders and others. I just think it is more difficult in today’s game for RB’s to post big rushing numbers.
Not trying to takeaway from Smith, Payton, Gore, Sanders and others. I just think it is more difficult in today’s game for RB’s to post big rushing numbers.
It's an extremely big deal, and Alexander had an amazing season that year in winning the MVP and making the Super Bowl. Alexander definitely had the better single season than Henry has had, but not the better career.
His size is certainly beneficial. He delivers more punishment than he receives. And how many tackles over the course of his career, we not delivered with max force because the tackler was making a “business decision”?
I’ve also noticed he has become adept and going down gracefully and he knows how and when to stop fighting for yardage.
I hope he can hang in long enough to break Emmitt’s record, but regardless, you are right at RB is a hard career.
Alexander never had a 2000 yard season and Henry had one and nearly had a second one last year which would have been an all time first. But Shaun was a TD machine.
King Henry man, boy could we use him on the roster about now. Punishing opposing defenses game after game. Yea, DH may hang it up soon. The average lifespan for a running back in the league is what, 4-5 years? But you never know. If dude is still feeling it he might just be around a little longer collecting that pro cash. Probably has one heck of a TV career after retirement also.
He's only about 2/3rds of the way to Emmitt's record - that would take a good 5-6 more productive seasons to achieve. I just can't see that happening.
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