The Baltimore Ravens and free agent signee Derrick Henry have bulldozed over opponents through the first five games of the season. Signed to a two-year, $16 million contract, the running back has recorded 572 yards and six touchdowns on 95 carries for a staggering 6.0 yards per carry while leading the league with 114.4 yards per game. These numbers are fantastic, and the advanced metrics paint a similar story. Henry’s 90.3 PFF grade leads all running backs, and he also ranks first in breakaway runs (eight), third in evaded tackles (26), and fourth in yards created (four).
Derrick Henry has been worth every cent for the Ravens, and NFL.com’s Tom Blair believes he was the best acquisition of the past offseason. In a recent article, the analyst ranked Henry’s two-year, $12 million deal as the best acquisition of the offseason, ahead of guys like Sam Darnold, Xavier McKinney, and Justin Fields.
Watch Henry knife through the Bills’ defense, setting the tone for a Week 4 victory that reestablished the Ravens as an AFC power. Cue up Henry rumbling 51 yards to set up a game-winning kick in overtime against the Bengals this past Sunday. Now imagine how much you would pay for that kind of impact. Does $8 million per year seem reasonable? What if you knew that average ranked eighth among players at his position — and 284th among all NFL players (per Over The Cap) in 2024?
NFL.com: Ravens Signing Derrick Henry Named Best Move of the Offseason
There is no denying that the Ravens are happy Derrick Henry is on their team. A four-time Pro Bowler with over 2,100 carries to his name, most running backs would have succumbed to age long ago. However, Henry continues to be the ultimate outlier, remaining as effective as ever while paired with an elite dual-threat quarterback in Lamar Jackson. Jackson’s mobility makes it impossible for defenses to lock in on running backs, which gives a bit of an artificial boost to running back production.
Even with that disclaimer out of the way, Derrick Henry is still fantastic and could end up being the missing piece as the Ravens pursue their first Super Bowl title since the Joe Flacco Era. However, is he the best signing of the offseason? While he is undoubtedly one of the best moves, there’s one that stands out as a better decision.
Sam Darnold Disrespect
In a league where quarterbacks like Daniel Jones earn $40 million per year, finding a quarterback who plays at a borderline MVP level for just $10 million per year shouldn’t be possible. However, that’s exactly what the Minnesota Vikings did when they signed Sam Darnold as a bridge quarterback and mentor for eventual first-round pick J.J. McCarthy. With the rookie sidelined for the season, the former third-overall pick stepped up in a big way, guiding the Vikings to a 5-0 record while ranking 10th in EPA/play. While he struggled in London against a great New York Jets defense, he has played well in the other four games.
Can Darnold keep this up for the course of an entire season? Who knows. However, even if he reverts to his career norms, this five-game performance alone justifies the top spot on this list. Quarterback is the most important position in the game by a wide margin, and the Vikings are getting top play for a fraction of Kirk Cousins’ contract. Derrick Henry is dominating with the Ravens, but it’s impossible to compare the impact of a running back to that of a quarterback.
Main Photo: Albert Cesare – USA Today Sports
