In 2023, then-Titans running back Derrick Henry led the NFL with 280 carries. In 2024, Henry’s new team, the Ravens, wants to give him the ball even more than that.
Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken said he’d love to see the Ravens take some early leads and then grind out the clock by giving Henry the ball repeatedly.
“I know this: If [Henry] carries it 300 times, we’re having a helluva year,” Monken said. “It means we’re running it a lot. It means we’re up in games. We want him to finish, [and] we want him to be the closer.”
Henry has done it before, topping 300 carries three times in his career, including a whopping 378 in 2020, when he ran for 2,027 yards in a 16-game season. In a 17-game season, a player needs to average 17.7 carries per game to reach 300 for the year, and Monken says the most important part of that is keeping Henry healthy for 17 games.
“First and foremost, like every player, we want him to make it through the season. It’s a long season – 17 games,” Monken said. “So, we’ll see how that goes. I mean, he’s been so durable.”
The most important player to the Ravens’ offense is quarterback Lamar Jackson, but if Jackson gets the Ravens big leads as often as he did last year, Henry may become the focal point in the fourth quarter.
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/ravens-love-derrick-henry-300-081307077.html
Author : ProFootball Talk on NBC Sports
Publish date : 2024-05-24 08:13:07
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