Derrick Henry returns to elite fantasy status after news broke that he will be signing a two-year deal worth up to $20 million with the Baltimore Ravens.
No team runs more than the Ravens, whose 2,661 total rushing yards led the league in 2023.
Many of those yards were courtesy of mobile quarterback Lamar Jackson, who led the team with 821 rushing yards of his own. However, unlike in Philadelphia where Jalen Hurts vultures touchdowns from his running backs, Baltimore likes to give the goal-line duties to the runners. Gus Edwards’ 13 rushing touchdowns tied for the third-most in the NFL last season with Lion’s RB, David Montogmery. As a whole, the Ravens running back room tallied 20.
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Now, Edwards is with the Chargers, J.K. Dobbins is a free agent, and Keaton Mitchell is returning from an ACL tear.
It’s all Henry, all the time.
Henry logged another excellent season in 2023, with 1,167 rushing yards and 12 rushing touchdowns (tied for fifth), despite a struggling offense, inconsistent quarterback play, and an offensive line that ranked among the worst in the NFL.
Henry has logged 1,000 or more yards in five of his last six seasons with the only outlier being in 2021 when he missed half the season due to injury. He still tallied 937 rushing yards in 2021 in fewer than eight complete games played, putting him on pace for potential back-to-back 2,000 yard seasons. In 2022, Henry silenced the doubters who said he was too old and injured when he ran for 1,538 yards and 13 rushing touchdowns.
Even at age 30, Henry should return top-tier value for his fantasy managers. Henry moves to a more potent offense with a far-better offensive line, and he’s the 30-year-old running back unicorn I’ll be drafting on most of my fantasy squads.
