Will Derrick Henry be cast into Canton?

By: Jake Rajala

The Tennessee Titans superstar ball-carrier, Derrick Henry, is well regarded as one of the most dangerous offensive players in the league. The King was at the top of the mountain in 2020 when he unleashed 2,027 rushing yards and 17 rushing touchdowns — which led him to win Offensive Player of The Year (and garner first-team All-Pro honors).

Let’s not forget that Henry also had a magical 2019 season where he unveiled 1,540 rushing yds and 16 rushing TDs in 15 games. The Titans RB1 also ran angry for 12 rushing TDs in 2018 & 10 rushing TDs in 2021. He blatantly has been a wrecking ball and unstoppable in his post-Alabama football career. With that said, there is a fascinating, grand question revolving around the Titans RB1: Is Henry a future Hall of Famer?

At this moment, I don’t believe that Henry is a lock to be cast into Canton. He has a similar resume as CJ2K, where he has a couple of incredible seasons (which include rushing for 2,000+ yards). Although, I don’t believe he’s been overly consistent in dominating his foes throughout his career. He’s only made two Pro Bowls, which doesn’t stack up well to the likes of LaDainian Tomlinson (five Pro Bowl nods) & Adrian Peterson (seven Pro Bowl nods).

Henry needs to have 2-3 more Pro Bowl-caliber seasons to deserve the respect that will place him in football heaven in my opinion. It isn’t easy for an RB to make it into Canton, but Henry does have the potential to do so. Is Henry on a path to making it into the Hall of Fame? I do believe that the former Bama workaholic has that rare combination of mindset and talent that will push him to be a top-tier RB for each of the next couple of seasons. Ultimately, I anticipate that he will have a slightly more potent resume than CJ2K and he will give a HOF speech at some point.