One of the Dallas Cowboys needs to fulfill this offseason is running back. Derrick Henry is an intriguing prospect out of Alabama, where he led the Crimson Tide to a National Championship this past season.
Over the course of the season, Henry amassed 2,219 yards on 395 carries en route to the Heisman trophy. Among other records, he broke Herschel Walker’s mark for most rushing yards by a running back in the SEC.
Combine results: Henry measured in at 6-foot-3, 247 pounds with a 33-inch arm length and a hand size of 8 ¾ inches. He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.54 seconds, the 3-cone drill in 7.20 seconds, and the 20-yard shuttle in 4.38 seconds. He completed 22 reps of bench press and was a top performer with a 37-inch vertical jump, 130-inch broad jump, and 11.50 second 60-yard shuttle.
Draft him because… Henry is the old school grind-it-out running back that would excel in any offense, especially one with an elite quarterback such as Tony Romo. With Romo under center (and Dez Bryant split wide), defenses will be reluctant to put eight in the box.
Standing at 6-foot-3, 247 pounds, Henry would shred any light box. If the defense decides to buckle down on him, it would open up the play action game for the offense. He’s a perfect fit for a team with an offensive identity such as the Cowboys. As shown in 2014, they are capable of getting ahead by outscoring the opposition as opposed to relying on the defense to get stops.
Henry would also be instrumental at the end of games to grind out the clock. He is a runner who is able to turn his speed to a different level in open space, evident by his game against Mississippi State in which he had touchdown runs of 65 and 74 yards. He would also prove an instant solution to the Cowboys in an area they were one of the very worst at in the league last year: 3rd and short.
As of December 9th, Dallas was converting 41 percent of 3rd and 1 attempts, good for dead last in the NFL at that point. On top of his rushing abilities, his frame gives him a great shot at taking on blitzing linebackers and keeping defenses off of a quarterback who has had multiple clavicle injuries and back surgery over the past three years.
Stay away from him because… The track record of Alabama running backs in the NFL recently is not a pretty one. The last five running backs taken in the draft, all in the top three rounds, are Glenn Coffee, Mark Ingram, Trent Richardson, Eddie Lacy, and T.J. Yeldon. Of those, Coffee, Ingram and Yeldon were all dynamic running backs that were not afraid to bounce it out to the sideline.
Henry compares to the like of Richardson and Lacy as far as his running style and though the jury is still out on Lacy, he has had problems managing his weight and finding success in Green Bay. Richardson on the other hand has bounced around the league and has been one of the bigger busts in recent history.
As big as Henry is, it is a bit surprising that he is not as dominate at breaking tackles as other backs. He is more of a running back that finishes with lunging ahead, but doesn’t often break tackles the way an Adrian Peterson or Marshawn Lynch are accustomed to.
In addition, the Cowboys just let Demarco Murray walk one year ago because of the workload he took on the previous year (of course the price played a factor as well). If you look at Henry’s last season, though it was record breaking and spectacular, he rushed 395 times. The year Murray got “ran into the ground” according to many, he rushed 392 times. Additionally, Henry provides little to no threat as a receiving option, tallying just 17 catches in his three years at Alabama.
Conclusion: Derrick Henry has an impressive résumé coming into the draft and also openly expressed his desire to run behind the offensive line in Dallas, but he is not worth the risk of the fourth overall pick.
He may be worth taking a shot at in the second round, but the team proved last year with Darren McFadden that any decent running back is capable of having success here. A better option may be Ohio State’s Ezekiel Elliott due to his more versatile style of play.
Is Henry the back the Cowboys have been searching for? Let Saad know your thoughts on Twitter @SaadYousuf126.
