PFF ranked Derrick Henry the NFL’s 3rd most elusive RB and it’s too low

PFF ranked Derrick Henry the NFL’s 3rd most elusive RB and it’s way too low.

Running back is a position that is stepped on year after year every time a star running back comes up for a new contract, just ask Derrick Henry fans.

Used to, giving a running back a multi-year deal was nothing to question. In fact, it was pretty normal if you found a back that could lead your team. Now, any team that gives a running back a lucrative deal is considered a little bit crazy. That is the situation the Tennessee Titans have found themselves in with one of the Alabama Crimson Tide’s Heisman winners.

Ben Linsey from PFF put together a list to show just how powerful and hard to bring down these running backs can be. He ranked the NFL’s 32 starting running backs based on their elusiveness.

"I’m choosing to define elusiveness as how well a player eludes would-be tacklers — i.e., how difficult they are to bring to the ground. That comes in different forms, as some players opt to run defenders over, while others prefer to evade contact altogether. But the end goal remains the same — don’t get tackled.via Ben Linsey PFF"

Basically this list was put together ranking the hardest running backs in the NFL to tackle. So I ask you, before you read the rest of this article watch this video.

If you’re interested in more, watch every TD run Titans RB Derrick Henry has ever had.

Where did Henry rank?

Derrick Henry is number 3 on the list of elusive running backs. The two backs ahead of him? Nick Chubb and Josh Jacobs. To me, if you are defining elusive in the NFL as hard to bring down, Derrick Henry has to be at the top of the list.

You can believe what you want about Nick Chubb’s yards after contact numbers, but when Derrick Henry makes contact the defender doesn’t want to ever make contact again. Nick Chubb is a good running back and he deserves respect for what he has accomplished with the Browns, but no running back in the NFL is as hard to bring down as Derrick Henry.

Then, Josh Jacobs at number two? We’ve seen one season from Josh Jacobs in which we’ve only seen 13 games. Josh Jacobs seems to have the tools to be a great running back, but this small sample size isn’t nearly enough to put him above Derrick Henry.

Derrick Henry is a different style of running back that we don’t see often in the NFL. His combination of size, speed, and power makes him, in my opinion, undeniably the hardest running back to tackle in the NFL.