When will Derrick Henry start looking like El Tractorcito?

The Titans Desperately Need Derrick Henry

The Titans have been lucky up until now, they haven’t needed peak Derrick Henry quite yet.

The team is still 2-0, Ryan Tannehill is playing at an elite level, and the mere threat alone of Henry taking over a game has been enough up until this point to scare opposing defenses and elevate the Titans’ passing game. But, if Henry can’t step up his game soon, the team will suffer as a result.

Sooner rather than later, the defenses that the Titans will be forced to play won’t be so easily picked apart through the air in the way that the Jaguars and Broncos were. Coming up on the schedule as soon as Week 4, one of the best defenses in the NFL in the Buffalo Bills. The following week, things won’t be much easier when the Titans take on the Pittsburgh Steelers.

But as the year goes on, if Henry can’t become the running back we all know and love, the quality of defenses might not matter. If teams stop treating Henry like a threat, things are bound to get harder for Ryan Tannehill. And if both players start to falter, it could spell disaster for the Titans offense.

Tennessee approaches offense with a perfect balance. Plenty of reps for Henry, plenty of reps for Tannehill. But if one of those pieces can’t shoulder their portion of the offense, the other one is bound to suffer as a result. But don’t go pushing the panic button just yet.

Derrick Henry always starts out the years slow, and he always picks it up as the weeks pass. The Henry breakout isn’t a question of if at this point, but when. And expect it sooner this year rather than later.