RB Derrick Henry Is Backing Ravens Reworked OL, Won't Shy Away From 300 Carries Again

Of the many things made clear throughout his Hall of Fame career, Ravens bulldozing running back Derrick Henry would much rather play football than talk about football.

The ageless wrecking ball, coming off successive seasons in Baltimore when he ran for 1500 yards and tacked up over five yards per carry and scored 16 rushing touchdowns, has showed no signs of slowing down. His play has said more than he ever could, and NFL defenses pretty much know what they’re going to get from him, as he enters his age 32 season, until his body eventually gives way.

So while excitement builds over what rookie offensive coordinator Declan Doyle might have cooked up for the pass game and quarterback Lamar Jackson, and receivers gush about Doyle being a “genius” and opine about how explosive this unit could be, Henry is taking a more measured approach. He isn’t going to be able to do this forever, he wants a ring before he’s done, and he knows this offense hasn’t proven anything yet.

“We have to go put it all together as an offense,” Henry said Wednesday. “We want explosive plays, run and pass, and that is the standard we want to hold ourselves to. We have to go do it. It sounds good saying explosive, but if you want to be that way, then you have to go out there and do it."

Perhaps, this will be the season where Father Time gains a step on Henry. If so, it will take some time for us to find out as he enters the season fresh and healthy. We have no reason to believe Doyle won’t be riding him heavy early in the season as this brand new offense sorts through a new system and new interior offensive line. Doyle is a product of Sean Payton and Sean Payton runs the ball with multiplicity from under center, where Henry did most of his work in Tennessee.

Only two players have run 300 times or more in their age 32 season – Otis Anderson and Walter Payton, a loong time ago – and Henry has never run 300 times or more three straight years in his career. Only one back has run at least 250 times in his age 32 season and averaged over 4.5 per carry (Ricky Williams).

Doyle seemed undeterred when probed about this over the summer, wanting to put no limitations on Henry.

“He is a special talent,” Doyle said. “There are not many guys in the league who can do what he does. The vision for him in the offense is an immense role. Obviously, I don't want to put a number on the amount, because obviously, as you look at every single week, every week is different. You want to be able to deploy things in different ways, and at the same point in time, he's going to have a pretty large workload.”

That should be particularly true in Week 1. Henry, surging up the all-time record books, has played 16 career games against the Colts, and has 1432 yards at 5.0/carry.

Colts Vulnerable Against The Run

The Colts were not especially stout upfront last season, their best defensive lineman, DeForest Buckner, is working back from an injury, and defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo has been probed lately about the suspect group of linebackers, with him emphasizing the “rotation,” which means he’s short on guys he wants out there every down. Indianapolis was 22nd in success rate against the run last season, though it did limit teams to 3.9 per carry.

Anarumo has had some success against Henry from his time in Cincinnati. He faced Henry four times and bottled him up in three of them, without elite run stuffers on his roster and some linebacker issues there, too. Henry did break a 51-yard TD gallop in overtime in their penultimate meeting in that rivalry but had 14 carries for 41 yards in that game prior, and in their last meeting Henry had 16 carries for just 68 yards.

Whether this offensive line will become a problem – it was a major issue last season from goal to go and short yards to pass protection – remains to be seen. Henry was getting more behind the line of scrimmage in 2025 than in his first season here. Henry, never one to make excuses, is backing them wholeheartedly – the starting center, Jovaughn Gwyn, has played 11 NFL snaps and the right side could be troublesome starting the season - as one would expect.

"They try to get better every single day individually and collectively,” Henry said of the reconstructed interior line. “That is what those guys, the O-line, have done, and I cannot wait for them to go out there and display it on Sunday."

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