💵🏈 Derrick Henry Is Proving His Worth

Derrick Henry leads a group trying to blast away the concept that running backs aren’t good value. [View in browser]( [FOX SPORTS INSIDER WITH MARTIN ROGERS] In today’s FOX Sports Insider: Derrick Henry leads a group of elite running backs who are out to prove their worth ... we take a look at how COVID-19 has impacted teams preparing for this year’s NBA Draft ... and Joe Flacco passes Joe Montana on the all-time passing yards list. Derrick Henry is a big deal this season. He is enough of a big deal that no self-respecting list of MVP candidates is complete without the presence of the running back juggernaut for the 6-2 Tennessee Titans. After signing a four-year, $50 million deal with the Titans, Henry has performed at an elite level this season, which is kind of a big deal in itself, given that such things have become the most scrutinized of the National Football League’s contractual offerings. Let’s clarify. There has been a lot of conjecture in recent times about just how much true worth should be given to the top NFL running backs. It’s not that the men who fearlessly plow their bodies forward into a pile of opponents determined to smash them to the floor are not seen as valuable. Or that the yards they accumulate by force, ferocity and cunning are insignificant. [STORY IMAGE 1] The perceived problem is that, for a variety of factors and because of some headlining failures, they have come to be regarded as replaceable, if not downright disposable. Heading into a juicy Thursday Night Football tussle with the Indianapolis Colts (8:20 p.m. ET on FOX), Henry heads a group trying to blast away the concept that running backs just aren’t good value. The trio of Henry, Alvin Kamara and Dalvin Cook all got paid last summer and each is putting up the kind of monster numbers that guarantees the right kind of recognition. “I’ve got Derrick Henry (for MVP),” [FS1’s Kevin Wildes told First Things First](. “Here’s a fun fact for you. Last week was the first week that Henry ran for over 100 yards and the Titans lost. They are 16-1 when he runs over 100 yards. That’s the definition of MVP. ‘If I play well the team wins. If I don’t, we lose.’ That’s why he’s the MVP.” There were those that scoffed when over the course of a September weekend, Kamara was given $77.1 million over five years by the New Orleans Saints and Cook signed for $63 million and five years with the Minnesota Vikings. A couple of months earlier, Henry had locked in his four year, $50 million deal, while Christian McCaffrey set the bar in April. The Carolina Panthers came to terms with McCaffrey for four years and $64 million. [STORY IMAGE 2] “All of these players are young, accomplished and talented,” [wrote Mike Tanier of the New York Times](. “And all of their teams are likely to experience almost immediate buyer’s remorse, because most NFL running backs age like an open bottle of cheap zinfandel.” Such doubts are common in not just Manhattan newspaper offices, but also in those of NFL general managers. They are based off analytical data, detailed precedents and a formulaic strategy. Okay, let’s be real here, they are based in large part off the fear that (insert name of hot young running back of your choosing) is going to turn into Todd Gurley or Le’Veon Bell the moment the first hefty check lands in their account. Gurley went from being the best offensive player in football in 2017 to trying to rebuild his career now in Atlanta, while the hapless New York Jets couldn’t wait to shed Bell’s high number from their balance sheet. However, the recent rushers to collect superstar money have come up big, at least so far. Henry’s epic stiff-arm against the Buffalo Bills provided some of the best photographs of the season while sending Josh Norman into orbit. His overall productivity of more than 105 rushing yards per game should perhaps do something similar to the pervading negativity towards running back worth. [STORY IMAGE 3] Kamara and Cook are both over 1,000 all-purpose yards on the campaign already, while McCaffrey wasted no time in his return from injury last weekend, with 151 total yards and two touchdowns. And yet, there is still some conflicting evidence. When replacements have been needed, most notably in the case of Mike Davis for McCaffrey and Alexander Mattison for Cook, the deputies have typically acquitted themselves admirably. Even with the output of the running back elite, cautious GMs will still have cause for pause in the offseason, especially with the college ranks generating a steady supply of young, cheap talent. Sometimes, the differences between the best and the rest are marginal. Take Russell Wilson and divide his money by five and you get Sam Darnold. Do it to McCaffrey and you get his teammate Davis, not as good, but more than capable of doing a passable imitation for several weeks. Last season, 15 running backs rushed for more than 1,000 yards, and 12 of them were still tied to their initial rookie contracts. Given the explosive year being enjoyed by the likes of Henry, Cook and Kamara, that list should look markedly different this time. [STORY IMAGE 4] Furthermore, things like Henry’s performance in the most recent playoffs, when he took the Titans to the AFC Championship Game, should help the skeptics realize that a quality running back is the kind of guy you want in your locker room. “People are intimidated,” Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said when asked what danger a player like Henry posed. “And there are tangible things to be intimidated by.” Henry, Kamara, Cook, McCaffrey, plus the next crop hoping to cash in on their bruising exploits, are trying to prove a few things. That they are not a luxury, that quality matters and that they are individually excellent rather than the beneficiaries of favorable systems. In short, that they are all a big deal – and worthy of one. [STORY IMAGE 5] Here’s what others have said ... Tashaun Gipson, Chicago Bears safety (on Derrick Henry): “I haven’t been able to go against nobody like that ... guys that look like they should be playing D-end or something. He’s huge, but the scary thing about it is that he’s probably one of the fastest guys on the field, as well. I haven’t seen nothing like him.” Skip Bayless, Undisputed (on Derrick Henry): “We've heard for the last 5-6 years about the devaluing of the running back position, then all of a sudden here comes this guy and I've never seen anything like him.” DeMarco Murray, former Tennessee Titan (on Derrick Henry): “He can run the ball, runners are going to run the ball, but when he came into the league, he had to get better at going north and south. He’s a guy that with that power and that speed, when he stops his feet, he becomes average. But when he’s going, there’s not a lot of people that want to get in front of him. He started realizing not to stop his feet and just get north and south. He’s a physical runner, and obviously that stiff-arm is damn good.” [IN OTHER WORDS] - Before Khalil Mack was a Pro Bowl linebacker in the NFL, he was a 2013 first-team All-American, a first-team All-MAC player three times and the 2013 conference Defensive Player of the Year. [ESPN staff writer Harry Lyles Jr.]( revisits Mack’s incredible feats of strength at Buffalo. - Clayton Kershaw is finally trying on a new title: Champion. So what’s left for him to accomplish? [Sports Illustrated’s Stephanie Apstein]( details how Kerhsaw is learning to live as a champion. - The 2020 NBA Draft is fast approaching. [Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports]( looks at how COVID-19 has impacted teams preparing for this year’s draft. [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED] [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED]( Here’s a sentence you probably didn’t expect to read when watching Monday Night’s Patriots vs. Jets matchup: “Joe Flacco has passed Joe Montana on the all-time passing yards list.” Check out this highlight of Flacco hooking up with Breshad Perriman for a 50-yard touchdown. With that touchdown pass, Flacco moved into 20th on the all-time passing yards list with 40,551 career passing yards. The caption on this tweet sums it up perfectly: “Yes, you read that correctly. 2020 is WILD.” Well done, Joe! [VIEWER'S GUIDE] Kent State at Bowling Green (ESPN2, 7:30 p.m. ET) Dustin Crum and the Kent State Golden Flashes go up against Matt McDonald and the Bowling Green Falcons. Miami (Ohio) at Buffalo (ESPN, 8 p.m.) Jack Sorenson and the Miami (OH) Redhawks take on Jarret Patterson and the Buffalo Bulls. The Spring League: Jousters vs. Alphas (FS1, 8 p.m.) Alex Hornibrook and the Jousters battle JT Barrett and the Alphas. [BET OF THE DAY] [BET OF THE DAY] Odds provided by [FOX Bet]( Miami (Ohio) at Buffalo: OVER 57.5 It’s time for some MACtion, and we’re focusing on the O/U in Tuesday’s Miami (Ohio) at Buffalo game, which FOX Bet has set at 57.5 points. These are two high-powered offenses and there should be plenty of points put up in this contest. The Redhawks have two good options at quarterback in sophomores Brett Gabbert and AJ Mayer. Gabbert is questionable after suffering a head injury last week, but Mayer was outstanding last week, completing 67 percent of his passes for 212 yards and 3 TDs in a win over Ball State. On the other side, Buffalo will rely on junior running back Jarret Patterson, who opened the season against Northern Illinois with 20 rushes for 137 yards and two touchdowns. Look for these two teams to light up the scoreboard on Tuesday night. 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