The Baltimore Ravens’ acquisition of running back Derrick Henry via NFL free agency in March seemed like a match waiting to happen. The former Alabama All-American called the decision to sign with Baltimore “a no-brainer,” and Ravens coach John Harbaugh said the two-time NFL rushing leader “fits us really well.”
But NFL scheme-heads had a bone to pick with Harbaugh on one point of that fit.
With the NFL’s premier dual-threat quarterback in Lamar Jackson, Baltimore took 58 percent of its snaps in the shotgun formation in 2023, the sixth-most in the league.
During his eight seasons with the Tennessee Titans, Henry was accustomed to accepting a handoff on the move a couple of yards behind the line of scrimmage from a quarterback who took the snap under center. Last season, Tennessee started 70 percent of its plays with the quarterback under center, the fifth-most in the NFL.
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The difference wasn’t lost on Baltimore running-backs coach Willie Taggert.
“Watching the film in Tennessee, that was a concern,” Taggert said during the Ravens’ mandatory minicamp. “Like, we’re in the gun, and we run from the gun, and how would Derrick be in it?’ And I’m not going to lie: I questioned that until he got here and I seen the big man move his feet, and I’m like, ‘Whoa.’ It’s really impressive for a guy that size to move the way he does. And he’s got, not necessarily (wide receiver) Zay Flowers’ feet, but from a big guy, he’s pretty swifty on his feet and great vision and all.
“But seeing him do it from the gun, I don’t have any -- I don’t think we’ll have any problem doing it. And we’ll also be under center. We do some things under center, as well. But Derrick’s an athlete. He’s a big athlete, and I don’t think he’ll have any problem with anything we ask him to do. If we want him to go out at receiver, I think Derrick would go out there and get that done, as well.”
Taggert said Henry’s “elite” work habits wouldn’t allow the running back to be shackled by an offensive formation.
“He’s a guy that hates doing anything wrong,” Taggert said. “Like, it literally pisses him off to do anything wrong, and I’ve got to remind him, ‘Hey, Derrick, it’s practice. That’s why they call it practice. We’re going to make some mistakes at times, but just don’t make the same one twice.’
“But he wants to be the best, and he wants to know everything that’s going on. When he’s not here, he’s texting me, asking me what we put in, or if he’s watching film, he’s asking me something about what’s on the film, what we’re doing. It’s been great, as a coach, to have a guy like that that’s played this long, still wanting to play at a high level.”
And that, Taggert said, might be the most surprising thing about getting to know Henry during Baltimore’s offseason program.
“For a guy that’s played this long and at the level that he’s played at to come in here and is still hungry, still wanting to learn,” Taggert said. “He is not coming in here feeling like, ‘Hey, I’ve done this; I’ve done that.’ You don’t see any of that. It seems like he’s been a Raven all his life. He can fit in the room seamlessly. He’s been awesome.
“You kind of assume a guy that’s had that much success will come in and have his way of doing things, and Derrick, he wants to understand how we’re doing it, and he wants to do everything he can to help this football team win a championship.”
Henry is preparing for his ninth NFL season since joining Tennessee as a second-round selection in the 2016 draft. He had won the 2015 Heisman Trophy as he set the SEC’s single-season records for rushing yards and rushing touchdowns for Alabama’s CFP national-championship team.
After spending two seasons as DeMarco Murray’s backup, Henry has run for 8,268 yards and 80 touchdowns in the past six seasons. That has left him 498 away from becoming the NFL’s 32nd player with 10,000 rushing yards and 10 away from becoming the league’s 10th player with 100 rushing touchdowns.
Eight NFL players have reached 10,000 rushing yards and 100 rushing touchdowns – Jim Brown, John Riggins, Walter Payton, Marcus Allen, Emmitt Smith, Marshall Faulk, LaDainian Tomlinson and Adrian Peterson.
“We all know what he can do on the football field,” Taggert said, “so Derrick will be out there, and Derrick will have the ball, and I’m sure he’ll do a phenomenal job for us.”
Henry is scheduled to report on July 20 for training camp at the Under Armour Performance Center in Owings Mills, Maryland.
The Ravens open their three-game preseason schedule against the Philadelphia Eagles on Aug. 9 and kickoff their regular-season slate against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sept. 5 in the first game of the NFL’s 2024 season.
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.