New Advanced Stat Makes Henry's 2019 Season Look Even Better
At this point, no achievement for Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry should seem extraordinary.
So, there is the sense that a brand new statistical metric delivered what is now old news: Henry outperformed all other NFL running backs In 2019. He became the league's rushing champion because he finished first in expected yards per carry, which will be added to the NFL's official Next Gen Stats this season.
The analytics metric will isolate the performance of a ball carrier, measuring the effectiveness of his blockers, specifically the offensive line. It also will take into account defensive alignment, the number of defenders in the box versus number of blockers and other key factors.
Henry, who signed a four-year, $50 million extension with the Titans last week, has gotten better every year since entering the league in 2016. His rushing totals have increased significantly by year, and he already ranks fifth in franchise history in rushing with 3,833 total yards.
As the league’s rushing champion in 2019, Henry ran for 1,540 total yards and – based on the new advanced stat developed by an outlet in Austria – did more with less than any other running back. Henry finished 314 yards over expectation (his expected rushing total was 1,217) when the new metric is applied to his performance.
Henry, who added 446 more yards in three postseason game, was the only running back in the league to post a rushing yards over expectation per attempt of more than 1 yard (1.05). Just 10 running backs posted rates of 0.55 yards or better, and only two were within 0.25 yards on average of Henry's mark.
Henry, 26, has toted a significant amount of carries (804) in three seasons, and more than half of them (518) came in the last two years. While the amount of work Henry has taken on could be enough cause for some to pump the brakes on the Henry hype, the King himself certainly isn’t concerned.
“It’s never been a big wager on me as far as me carrying the ball 30 times a game,” Henry said during a press conference last week. “I think they know I can handle it and we did a good job of managing myself throughout the week, just so I’m prepared to have that workload. I always prepare my body the same.
“I always train the same throughout the offseason and that’s what I continue to do just so if that moment comes again, opportunity comes again, I’m ready for it and play at the best of my abilities.”
