There's a story from Jim Wyatt of Titans Online about Derrick Henry, talking with the team's offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. He says that Henry's workload might depend how games go, and if another running back emerges. A running back emerging to take carries away from Henry? Right.
A year ago, Henry put the team on his back, and the other running backs on the team were relegated to the sidelines. Dion Lewis had 15 carries in Week 16, which Henry was held out of (it was meaningless to the Titans' playoff prospects). He had 24 carries, total, in the team's other last nine games, so fewer than 3 per game. He also wasn't overly involved as a receiver, which was theoretically his role. He caught 13 passes in those nine games.
Smith talking about "another running back emerging" or getting more guys touches looks pretty unlikely. Henry has been the guy in this offense the last two years.
Especially when it comes to scoring. The last two seasons, Tennessee has 36 rushing touchdowns, and Henry has scored 28 of them. That's 76 and 80 percent of the team's total, two of the six highest percentages by any team's running back in those years. All players with at least 40 percent of their team's rushing touchdowns the last two seasons are shown below.
| RUSHING TDS, PERCENT OF TEAM, 2018-2019 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | IND | TM | Pct |
| 2019 | Leonard Fournette, Jac. | 3 | 3 | 100% |
| 2019 | Aaron Jones, G.B. | 16 | 18 | 89% |
| 2018 | Saquon Barkley, NYG | 11 | 13 | 85% |
| 2018 | Derrick Henry, Ten. | 12 | 15 | 80% |
| 2018 | David Johnson, Ariz. | 7 | 9 | 78% |
| 2019 | Derrick Henry, Ten. | 16 | 21 | 76% |
| 2019 | Christian McCaffrey, Car. | 15 | 20 | 75% |
| 2019 | David Montgomery, Chi. | 6 | 8 | 75% |
| 2018 | James Conner, Pitt. | 12 | 16 | 75% |
| 2018 | Todd Gurley, LAR | 17 | 23 | 74% |
| 2018 | Leonard Fournette, Jac. | 5 | 7 | 71% |
| 2019 | Josh Allen, Buff. | 9 | 13 | 69% |
| 2018 | Marlon Mack, Ind. | 9 | 13 | 69% |
| 2019 | Dalvin Cook, Min. | 13 | 19 | 68% |
| 2019 | Ezekiel Elliott, Dall. | 12 | 18 | 67% |
| 2019 | Melvin Gordon, LAC | 8 | 12 | 67% |
| 2018 | Latavius Murray, Min. | 6 | 9 | 67% |
| 2019 | Phillip Lindsay, Den. | 7 | 11 | 64% |
| 2018 | Melvin Gordon, LAC | 10 | 16 | 63% |
| 2018 | Joe Mixon, Cin. | 8 | 13 | 62% |
| 2019 | Todd Gurley, LAR | 12 | 20 | 60% |
| 2018 | Chris Carson, Sea. | 9 | 15 | 60% |
| 2018 | Adrian Peterson, Was. | 7 | 12 | 58% |
| 2019 | James Conner, Pitt. | 4 | 7 | 57% |
| 2018 | Aaron Jones, G.B. | 8 | 14 | 57% |
| 2018 | Kenyan Drake, Mia. | 4 | 7 | 57% |
| 2018 | Jordan Howard, Chi. | 9 | 16 | 56% |
| 2019 | Joe Mixon, Cin. | 5 | 9 | 56% |
| 2019 | Adrian Peterson, Was. | 5 | 9 | 56% |
| 2019 | Saquon Barkley, NYG | 6 | 11 | 55% |
| 2018 | Isaiah Crowell, NYJ | 6 | 11 | 55% |
| 2019 | Josh Jacobs, Oak. | 7 | 13 | 54% |
| 2018 | Alvin Kamara, N.O. | 14 | 26 | 54% |
| 2019 | Nick Chubb, Cle. | 8 | 15 | 53% |
| 2018 | Nick Chubb, Clev. | 8 | 15 | 53% |
| 2018 | Josh Allen, Buff. | 8 | 15 | 53% |
| 2019 | LeVeon Bell, NYJ | 3 | 6 | 50% |
| 2018 | Phillip Lindsay, Den. | 9 | 18 | 50% |
| 2019 | Mark Ingram, Balt. | 10 | 21 | 48% |
| 2019 | Marlon Mack, Ind. | 8 | 17 | 47% |
| 2019 | Chris Carson, Sea. | 7 | 15 | 47% |
| 2018 | Ezekiel Elliott, Dall. | 6 | 13 | 46% |
| 2018 | Dak Prescott, Dall. | 6 | 13 | 46% |
| 2018 | Peyton Barber, T.B. | 5 | 11 | 45% |
| 2018 | LeGarrette Blount, Det. | 5 | 11 | 45% |
| 2019 | Kenyan Drake, Ariz. | 8 | 18 | 44% |
| 2019 | Andy Dalton, Cin. | 4 | 9 | 44% |
| 2018 | Doug Martin, Oak. | 4 | 9 | 44% |
| 2018 | Kareem Hunt, K.C. | 7 | 16 | 44% |
| 2019 | Kerryon Johnson, Det. | 3 | 7 | 43% |
| 2018 | Matt Breida, S.F. | 3 | 7 | 43% |
| 2019 | Alvin Kamara, N.O. | 5 | 12 | 42% |
| 2019 | Latavius Murray, N.O. | 5 | 12 | 42% |
| 2018 | Lamar Miller, Hou. | 5 | 12 | 42% |
| 2018 | Deshaun Watson, Hou. | 5 | 12 | 42% |
| 2019 | Sony Michel, N.E. | 7 | 17 | 41% |
| 2019 | Deshaun Watson, Hou. | 7 | 17 | 41% |
| 2018 | Christian McCaffrey, Car. | 7 | 17 | 41% |
| 2019 | Ronald Jones, T.B. | 6 | 15 | 40% |
| 2019 | Peyton Barber, T.B. | 6 | 15 | 40% |
| 2019 | Ryan Fitzpatrick, Mia. | 4 | 10 | 40% |
| 2019 | Qadree Ollison, Atl. | 4 | 10 | 40% |
Tennessee drafted Darrynton Evans in the third round, and he had 18 rushing touchdowns at Appalachian State last season. But he's a lot smaller (5-10, 203) than Henry, so no worries he'll be taking any of those chances near the end zone. More likely he gets some opportunities to pick up the Lewis role; he caught 21 passes and 5 touchdowns last year.
When I saw the story I wondered if it would be the kind of thing that scares anyone away from selecting Henry in the middle of the first round of fantasy drafts. It shouldn't be.
--Andy Richardson