Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry has firmly planted himself into the NFL Most Valuable Player conversation with a league-leading 1,257 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns in 11 games.
And ESPN’s Courtney Cronin agrees, placing the Alabama product at No. 5 on her list of MVP candidates. Here’s what Cronin had to say:
Once again, Henry is leading the NFL in rushing with 1,257 yards and is averaging 114.3 rushing yards per game. His performance against Indianapolis (27 carries for 178 yards and three TDs) was his eighth straight regular-season road game with 100 or more rushing yards, dating back to 2019. Not coincidentally, the Titans are 7-1 in those games.
The fifth-year back has seven 100-yard games this season (most in the NFL) and is No. 1 in rushing yards above expectation, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. Henry is looking for his second straight rushing title, and if history is any indication of what lies ahead, the bruising back will only get stronger as the season wears on. Henry rushed for 500-plus yards in December of the 2018 and 2019 seasons, making him the first player to do that since LaDainian Tomlinson in 2006 and 2007.
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The four players ahead of Henry on Cronin’s list are Kansas City Chiefs quarterback, Patrick Mahomes (No. 1), Green Bay Packers quarterback, Aaron Rodgers (No. 2), Seattle Seahawks quarterback, Russell Wilson (No. 3), and Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger (No. 4).
Not only is Henry leading the NFL in rushing yards, but he’s also on pace to shatter his career-best 1,540 rushing yards from 2019 and win his second consecutive rushing title, which hasn’t happened since 2006-07 when LaDainian Tomlin accomplished the feat.
No running back has won the MVP award since 2012 when Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings got the nod, but Henry is certainly aligned to potentially be the next one to win the award.
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