Las Vegas Says Packers Could Sign Stud Running Back Derrick Henry
GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers hoped AJ Dillon would be Derrick Henry 2.0 when they drafted him in the second round in 2020.
That didn’t happen. With Dillon scheduled to hit free agency after a disappointing fourth season with the team, the Packers could be looking for a new “Thunder” to star opposite Aaron Jones’ “Lightning.”
Could that be Henry?
The 30-year-old also is scheduled to be a free agent. With the Tennessee Titans starting anew with new coach Brian Callahan, Henry could be on the move this offseason.
“Titans fans, I just want to say thank you for the greatest eight years of my life,” Henry told fans after the final game of the season. “The ups and the downs, y’all have been there for everything. Through the adversity, watching me grow as a person and a player, always supporting me. I love y’all.
“I love seeing the (No.) 22 (jerseys) in the stadium. Hopefully, I was an inspiration to all the young kids and everybody in the community. Thank y’all so much. God is good, and Titan up, baby.”
DraftKings Sportsbook has next-team odds posted for three of the NFL’s top running backs. For Henry, here are the 10 betting favorites.
Baltimore Ravens: +200
Philadelphia Eagles: +500
Dallas Cowboys: +550
Houston Texans: +750
Green Bay Packers: +1000
Los Angeles Chargers: +1000
Tennessee Titans: +1000
Minnesota Vikings: +1200
Miami Dolphins: +1200
Chicago Bears (and others): +2500
The 247-pound Henry is coming off another big season with 1,167 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns. He has gone over 1,000 rushing yards in five of the last six seasons – the exception being 2021, when he rushed for 937 yards in only eight games – and has 10-plus rushing touchdowns in each of the last six years.
Henry turned 30 in January and some of the production has gone down. After averaging 5.1 yards per carry in 2019 and 5.4 in 2020, his averages fell to 4.3 in 2021, 4.4 in 2022 and 4.2 in 2023. After posting per-game averages of 102.7 rushing yards in 2019, 126.7 in 2020 and 117.1 in 2021, those marks declined to 96.1 in 2022 and 68.6 in 2023.
In 2023, 49 running backs had at least 100 rushing attempts. According to Pro Football Focus, Henry averaged 3.32 yards after contract, which ranked eighth. Jones was 10th at 3.16 and Dillon was 38th at 2.69. According to Sports Info Solutions, Henry broke a tackle on 17.5 percent of his carries, which ranked 11th. Jones was 20th at 15.5 percent and Dillon was 47th at 6.7 percent.
Henry in NFL history is 36th with 9,502 rushing yards and 13th with 90 rushing touchdowns.
Packers coach Matt LaFleur was Tennessee’s offensive coordinator in 2018, when Henry – then in his third season – had his fist 1,000-yard season (1,059 yards, 4.9 average, 12 touchdowns). With LaFleur in Green Bay, Henry’s career took off in 2019, when he led the NFL in rushing, and 2020, when he led the league again and finished fifth all-time with 2,027 rushing yards.
The Packers have salary-cap limitations. Spotrac is projecting a one-year contract for Henry worth about $10.3 million.
The Packers fielded the youngest team in the NFL last season. One of the exceptions was Jones, who turned 29 in December. While Green Bay had perhaps the youngest group of receivers and tight ends in NFL history, it’d be a vastly different direction with the 30-year-old Henry teaming with the 29-year-old Jones.
DraftKings also has next-team odds for Raiders running back Josh Jacobs (+2500) and Giants running back Saquon Barkley (+5000 to Green Bay), along with a few top quarterbacks and receivers.
