Ravens Free Agency: Is Signing RB Derrick Henry Being Overvalued?
The Baltimore Ravens signed future Hall of Fame running back Derrick Henry, and as one would imagine, fans have been extremely vocal about how much they love it.
However, in a league that favors a strong pass game, is the signing of King Henry being overvalued by prisoners of the moment?
Is the Baltimore Ravens' Derrick Henry signing being overvalued?
Henry is a phenomenal rusher and arguably the greatest running back of his era, but does he make sense for what this Baltimore offense was trending toward a season ago?
A year ago, the hype around Lamar Jackson and this offense was that he finally had weapons to thow to and how he could finally prove skeptics wrong for doubting his skill as a passer.
Jackson secured his second MVP while passing on 50 percent of Baltimore’s offensive plays (lowest in the league), but this all backfired in the AFC Championship against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Offensive coordinator Todd Monken's dynamic offense would abandon its successful run game, which had been getting a 50/50 split with the passing game, and instead opt to throw the ball on 71.9 percent of the team's offensive plays. This proved costly as the team would lose the game and receive harsh criticism.
Adding Henry indicates that the Ravens coaching staff and front office have acknowledged their shortcomings and want to embrace the team's identity by running the ball more next season.
If signing Henry means that Monken is done being cute and shying away from the run game, then his addition isn't being overvalued; it's being undervalued. Good luck stopping the most dynamic run duo in the league when Henry bruises defenses, and Lamar then proceeds to juke them out of their cleats.
Rather than following the league's trend of being overly pass-happy, Baltimore now has the potential to go old school and play a brand of smash-mouth football that could win it a Super Bowl next year.
