The Tennessee Titans battled their way to an impressive win over the Buffalo Bills on Monday Night Football earlier this week. Unsurprisingly, star running back Derrick Henry had a huge game to help lead his team to running back.
The 2020 NFL Offensive Player of the Year exploded for 143 yards and three touchdowns on just 20 carries, including a 76-yard run that he took to the end zone. His performance improved his totals for the year to 162 carries, 783 yards and 10 touchdowns. He’s added 16 catches for 138 yards this season as well.
Henry’s remarkable six-game start to the 2021 season continues what’s been an absolutely dominant three-year run in the NFL for the 27-year-old running back. It also prompted Michael Wilbon to make a bold claim about his standing in the league’s history.
“Tony, let me mention real quick, Derrick Henry… Is he the best running back in the NFL since Emmitt Smith? I know I’m skipping over a lot of great people, but I’m not really skipping. Derrick Henry is one of the great backs with this stretch of time he’s having,” Wilbon said on Pardon the Interruption Tuesday. “… Right now he could be the MVP of this league as far as I’m concerned.”
“Is he the best running back in the NFL since Emmitt Smith?”@RealMikeWilbon on Derrick Henry, adding that he could also be the MVP of the league this season pic.twitter.com/xzeTeHO8SJ
— PTI (@PTI) October 19, 2021
Since 2019, Henry has rushed for 4,350 yards and 43 touchdowns with the Titans. He made the Pro Bowl in 2019 and 2020, while also making All-Pro teams in each of those years. He capped off that impressive stretch by breaking the 2000-yard barrier last season and winning the league’s Offensive Player of the Year award.
With that incredible stretch, Henry certainly seems to have earned Wilbon’s high praise. However, a handful of other ballcarriers can lay claim to being the best back since Emmitt Smith.
Hall of Famers Ladanian Tomlinson and Marshall Faulk, as well as Adrian Peterson are just a few that come to mind. All three had complete careers with breath-taking peaks and historic seasons.
That being said, Henry’s trajectory right now would have him right in the conversation as one of the best running backs to ever play football.
For the time being, Henry will focus on trying to stay healthy and leading his team to the playoffs in 2021.
The post ESPN’s Michael Wilbon Has Bold Suggestion On Derrick Henry appeared first on The Spun.
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