Tennessee Titans: Derrick Henry is not overrated

Pro Football Focus has ranked Tennessee Titans star running back Derrick Henry the most overrated running back in free agency.

Derrick Henry was the constant in the Tennessee Titans’ offense last year that kept the wheel turning. While the Titans were hoping to find a long-term solution to the quarterback position, they had Henry continue to dominate on the ground and make their jobs a bit easier.

Without Henry, who knows if the Titans would have made it past the Wild Card Round. He almost single-handily carried the Titans through their playoff run to the AFC Championship.

I would say 2019 was Henry’s best season yet. He finished last season with 1,540 rushing yards, which was good enough to secure the rushing title for the season. Although that might be his peak, I don’t expect him to fall off of the cliff anytime soon.

You would think after coming off of all of that this past season that Henry would be the hottest commodity in free agency. Well, he is for the Titans, but others don’t think so. Pro Football Focus’ Sam Monson went on ESPN to say that Henry was the most overrated running back in free agency.

"“Henry is a great running back, but the PFF data has shown that running backs are far more a product of their environment than of their ability to generate yardage — even those who eclipse 1,500 yards, as Henry did with the Titans last season,” Monson said. “So any big-money contract sent his way will just not prove to be good value. Look at the recent history of big deals handed to backs and ask how many of those teams would rather turn back time and undo the deal.”"

I guess that might make sense if last season was Henry’s only good season, but it wasn’t. Ever since joining the Titans, we’ve seen Henry have the ability to put the offense on his shoulders and carry his team to victory.

If Ezekiel Elliot is worth six years, $90 million, then I think Henry is worth something around there too. I think Henry will get something in that price range whether or not it’s the Titans who offer it to him.

The national media or people outside of Tennessee might look at Henry and see overrated, but that’s because the media has rarely ever been in favor of the Titans, and most people probably didn’t pay attention to Henry until this past season.

Henry isn’t overrated, he’s going to get paid, and when the Titans resign him, he’s going to come back and prove once again that he’s not overrated.