Should the Titans trade Derrick Henry right now?
By: Jeremy Trottier
With the 2022 offseason about halfway through, and the NFL Draft coming in less than a month, we have entered prime trading territory. With this, we could see some NFL stars be traded for draft capital if teams are high on players in this draft. The Titans have previously tried to trade Henry back in 2018, trying to shop him prior to the deadline. While this would be an absolute blockbuster of a move for the NFL, this offseason has already been absolute chaos. We already saw arguably the best receiver in the game be traded for a 1st and a 2nd, why not one of the best running backs?
Pros to trading Henry for Tennessee
Draft picks
The main pro for trading Derrick Henry would be receiving some immense draft capital, as Henry is an absolute monster. As much as it would hurt the team in the short term to do this, in the medium to long term they would get significantly better with more young players. While there is no “Derrick Henry” in this draft class necessarily, there is a lot of quality backs that should be taken in early day 2. We have seen players such as Jonathan Taylor fall into the 2nd as well, so it definitely is feasible to gain an extra first and some more picks and get younger overall.
Fix more holes on the roster
While having one elite player in the backfield is nice, the Titans could look to develop the roster more if they acquired more picks, or even players in a trade. Henry would likely draw a high price tag, which would allow them to focus on positions of need (IOL, Edge, TE, etc.). Getting the OL fixed would be huge to help out Ryan Tannehill, and would allow the next running back to get some clear running gaps.
Cons to trading Henry for Tennessee
Short term drop off
The issue with trading Henry would obviously be the immediate drop off in the team and their chances at the playoffs. Henry is the lifeblood of this team, and has been essentially the sole proprietor of their playoff runs recently. At 28 years old, he has some good years left in the tank no doubt, which would likely get the Titans to a few more playoff games.
The market for RBs is minimal
As of right now, the market for running backs may be slightly weaker than normal, as teams are starting to realize that paying a premier amount for backs does not end well mostly. On top of this, running back is not a position that is really needed by a lot of teams at the moment, as almost every single team has a premier back or a good rotation. This would drag down its value slightly of Henry, but probably not enough to not consider any offers.
