The Baltimore Ravens have the No. 1 rushing offense in the NFL. At least by total output, nobody bests their 1,443 yards on the ground thus far this season. They also have a league-leading 17 rushing touchdowns and are averaging 4.8 yards per carry, which ranks third, so things are looking pretty good.
Even with their presumptive starting running back, J.K. Dobbins, back on the shelf after suffering another season-ending injury, this time in the opener. But the Ravens still have Gus Edwards and now another potential undrafted rookie phenom in Keaton Mitchell, along with Justice Hill. But CB Marlon Humphrey thought they would be making a splash with a big name at the trade deadline.
“I was about 85 percent [sure] that King Henry would be suiting up for the Ravens”, he said on his Punch Line podcast yesterday. “It did not happen. My source was incorrect. He had me thinking it was basically a done deal”.
King Henry would be Derrick Henry, the All-Pro running back for the Tennessee Titans. The eighth-year veteran has rushed for 601 yards on 137 carries this season with four rushing touchdowns, averaging 4.4 yards per carry. He joined the exclusive 2,000-yard rushing club in 2020, named the Offensive Player of the Year that season.
Although both Henry and Humphrey played for the Alabama Crimson Tide, they were only teammates for one season. Humphrey was a freshman in 2015 during Henry’s final year in college as a junior, during which he rushed for 2,219 yards with 28 touchdowns and won the Heisman Trophy.
Humphrey said that he did reach out to his former teammate but said that Henry “didn’t give me any details. I was a little disappointed in that. Shoulda, woulda, coulda”. He quickly added, “But anyway, do we need another running back? No, sir”.
Having the greatest runner at the quarterback position in NFL history certainly doesn’t hurt. Lamar Jackson has 440 rushing yards this year with five touchdowns, averaging 5.2 yards per attempt. Edwards leads the team with 478 yards and seven scores. Hill adds another 251 and three, while Mitchell has 138 yards and a touchdown.
That complements an efficient Ravens passing offense, with Jackson leading the NFL with a completion percentage of 71.5 while maintaining 7.7 yards per attempt. He is on pace to throw for a career-high 3,691 yards, though with just 17 passing touchdowns.
But the Ravens have been so proficient scoring on the ground that it hasn’t been necessary to so regularly cash in through the air. That would have been even less necessary had they actually landed Henry, who has the third-most rushing touchdowns in go-to-go situations since 2020, behind only Eagles QB Jalen Hurts and Raiders RB Josh Jacobs with 26. Assuming, of course, that the Ravens ever even showed any interest in getting a deal done.
