Every Sports Reference Social Media Account, Site Last Updated: Monday, May 1, 2:31PM. His presence likely helped Henry in the running game. In the latter scenario, though, fans might start asking questions if the Kentucky star isn't impressing the coaching staff more than a quarterback who's also a bit of a project and looked lost on the field in his first year. George Walker IV / Tennessean.com / USA Today Network. That PFR total looks a little light, and its hard to fathom that Davis has broken more tackles than Henry. Stroud, and Anthony Richardson Land? His toughness, his understanding of our offense and what we are trying to do each and every week has been good, coach Mike Vrabel said of Tannehill. And keep in mind that most of the league leaders have played six games, while Henry has only played five. Ryan Tannehill has never won a Super Bowl. The rebirth of Tannehill following his trade to the Titans in 2019 after Miami essentially gave up on its former first-round pick is well documented. 33, adding the 81st pick in the deal. Theyve run the ball 193 times for 908 yards, an average of 4.7 yards per carry. Ryan Tannehill was born on July 27, 1988. 1. The rushing attack remained solid without Henry, as the Titans went 6-3 without him. Frequently Asked Questions about the NFL and Football, Pro-Football-Reference.com Blog and Articles, Subscribe to Stathead Football: Get your first month FREE. The last and most important piece is the way that play calling and play results are affected by Henrys presence, or lack thereof, which has a direct influence on Tannehill, the rest of his teammates and the ways teams may defend this offense. The Titans ran for 198 yards against the Dolphins, meaning three of the teams biggest five rushing days this season New England (270 rushing yards) and Pittsburgh (201 rushing yards) have come since Henry was sidelined with a broken bone in his foot. But opponents cannot even load up to stop Henry near the goal line as often as they would like. Pro Football Network, LLC. The average audience was 6.0 million viewers (TV plus digital) over three days, which was up 12% from 2022. Former Titans general manager Jon Robinson used a third-round choice to select Liberty quarterback Malik Willis in 2022, but the raw quarterback struggled when given chances to play in place of Tannehill. The browser you are using is no longer supported on this site. Without Henry, they'd have just 166 yards over two offseason games. However, the organization's priorities could shift dramatically if it trades Tannehill or Henry this offseason. Before we get to the interplay of Tannehill and Derrick Henrys strengths, lets talk about Henrys most recognizable, electrifying, That PFR total looks a little light, and its hard to fathom that Davis has broken more tackles than Henry. He totaled 49 rushing first downs in eight games and produced a first down on 22.4 percent of his carries. Why? Count Dews among those who thinks a one-two punch of Henry and Foreman might be especially effective. If so, you are in for a surprise. He threw for 773 yards on. If you look at all these stats on a per game basis, it comes out to: Vs his overall per game stats as the Titans starter: From this we see that Tannehill's play is barely affected by how Henry plays, and while Henry is one of the best RBs in the league, and certainly is a great addition to this offense, Tannehill is clearly the team's MVP and one of the 5 most valuable players in the league. Daniel Jeremiah's top 150 prospects in the 2023 NFL Draft: Where did each player land? Tennessee had a 6-2 record before Henry was injured. Theres nothing the film tells me that the data hasnt the portrait is pretty clear. According to @NextGenStats Henry hit 21.8 mph on that run. In other words, does a very successful running back make for better play-action success, or will play-action work well no matter what running back is involved? In the two eight-game comparisons of the Titans, it appears Henrys presence did make a difference in play action. But few quarterbacks excel when 3rd-and-long comes around. Levis struggled game to game, and warts began to show. Looking first at the usage rate based on downs, the split in snaps for Henry is proof that the running back is not just a personnel package, but an offense on its own. You would expect Henry to face lots of stacked boxes. Tannehill leads the league in touchdowns and in passer rating (144.6) in 2nd-and-short-to-medium situations, with a 76.6% completion rate and 9.4 yards per pass attempt. Nowhere is that more apparent than in goal-to-go situations. By comparison, Henry alone had three of his carries go for 20 or more yards, including a game-changing 76-yard touchdown run in the Titans' 34-31 win over the Buffalo Bills and another 60-yarder in Tennessee's 33-30 win over the Seattle Seahawks. PFF's exclusive metrics provide matchup previews, position rankings, grades, and snap counts. That number is more than halved with Henry (37%), and it falls second to two-tight end sets (12 personnel), marginally leading all personnel groupings at 37.5%. Henry had carried much of the offense before being hurt, running for 10 touchdowns through six games. 33, Teddy Bridgewater? So I decided to look at some data to prove this. 22 as a backbone. With NFL+, stay connected throughout the rest of the NFL offseason with special content from Training Camp, Hall of Fame, and more! Hopefully you and I already knew this, but unfortunately a lot of people, particularly casual NFL fans, don't. They combined for 223 carries for 1,036 yards and 6 touchdowns. Getting Derrick Henry the ball gives us a better chance to win.". Considering quarterback is the most important position on any NFL team, its only fair Tannehill gets plenty of credit for the teams lofty perch. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. Get info about his position, age, height, weight, college, draft, and more on Pro-football-reference.com. The concept of the workhorse back has been left behind everywhere in the NFL, except for the Music City. "One thing that always amazed me about Derrick Henry was it seemed like the more he got the ball, the better he played," said Nick Saban, who coached Henry at Alabama, before the 2020 season on a radio show. Derrick Henry leads the NFL with 588 rushing yards entering Week 7, despite having only played five games so far in the 2020 season. Find out more. The Titans improved to 7-2 with a 28-16 victory over the Los Angeles Rams (7-2) on Sunday night at . With Henry in the lineup, quarterback Ryan Tannehill earned a play-action passing grade of 91.6 from Pro Football Focus, second only to Seattle's Russell Wilson. Making the offense go means just playing for the quarterback. Tennessee has chosen its potential successor to Ryan Tannehill. Tennessee's selection of Levis makes it two straight drafts in which the Titans spent a Day 2 pick on a quarterback. He also has had a passer rating of 90 or better in three of four road starts this season. What's next for Titans after ending season on seven-game losing streak? And Henrys ability to hammer out routine yardage has helped Tannehill become one of the NFLs most efficient passers. Its more mind-blowing, however, to realize that the ground game over the past eight games has posted numbers that, in many categories, are every bit as impressive as the first eight games. Now picture the opposing defense. Nothing can replicate reps that come in games, so it remains to be seen how much Henry will be able to handle in his first game back. After nabbing both QB C.J. Tennessee has two offenses, depending on the running back. How can he really be struggling, for instance, if Ben Baldwin a numbers-crunching football analyst at The Athletic this week listed him as a 2021 most valuable player candidate, along with high-profile names like Tampa Bays Tom Brady, Arizonas Kyler Murray, Dallas Dak Prescott and Kansas Citys Patrick Mahomes? He just led the Titans to a 12th comeback when trailing in the fourth quarter or overtime with the overtime win in Indianapolis last week. Not only has the team lost its anchor and engine, but also its short-yardage offense and the overwhelming effectiveness of 12 personnel. Early look at 2024 NFL free agents: Which players could be available next March? The quarterback consistently has done what is needed to deliver victories as his team deals with myriad issues during the 2021 NFL season. Poor Carson Wentz of the Philadelphia Eagles has faced 3rd-and-long 42 times, twice as often as Tannehill. When eliminating the same situations, the EPA per play figure with Lewis, McNichols and Tannehill (a name triumvirate fitting of a law firm) skyrockets to .257. Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. How does Tannehill's re-signing affect Titans free agency? When facing some team like Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs, a defense usually has no choice but to keep just six defenders in the box so it can cover all those receiving weapons. With the bulldozing Henry still leading the way for now, Spears fits in a tandem role as a ball-carrier who was incredibly consistent at Tulane, can make a man miss and might eventually take over for Henry. He just led the Titans to a 12th comeback when trailing in the fourth quarter or overtime with the overtime win in Indianapolis. Sometimes as a coach, you get to where you develop trust within each specific player or a couple different players, and unless youre forced sometimes to make a change or do things differently, you kind of get used to the way things are because of the trust factor. Stacking the box also opens up passing lanes for Tannehill when the Titans utilize play-action because Henry greatly influences linebackers who are forced to respect his rushing ability. Unlock all tools and content including Player Grades, Fantasy, NFL Draft, Premium Stats, Greenline and DFS. Or write about sports? Of course you did: As we just detailed, Henry carries the ball more than any other running back in the league. You pictured Henry running straight up the gut, didnt you? July 27,1988 Recapping the most wild NFL Free Agency moments so far. Levis opens up about draft day 33 overall . Broken tackles may be in the eye of the beholder, but there is no question that Henry is among the best running backs in the NFL at generating yards after contact. Henry had three runs of 20-plus yards this season, two of 40-plus. With the expected points added marks being only marginally different based on whos been in the backfield, I can only imagine how loud the dialogue will be about how much running the ball means for setting up play fakes later. DOnta has done a really good job with his opportunity, Dews said. Henry was on pace for over 400 carries prior to his injury, a number that would have outpaced seven teams in 2020. Henry and Tannehill will need each other more than ever on Sunday, especially with left tackle Taylor Lewan out for the year. Use without license or authorization is expressly prohibited. Derrick Henry, the NFLs reigning offensive player of the year, has missed the past two games. It is highly recommended that you use the latest versions of a supported browser in order to receive an optimal viewing experience. Its one thing to say the Titans running game didnt fall apart in the absence of Henry, who, according to a source, is trending toward a return to practice on Wednesday. The Foreman-Hilliard-McNichols combination has six runs of 20-plus yards, one of 40-plus. Tannehill has 13 interceptions in 12 games. Tennessee ranks only 21st in the NFL, averaging 229.5 yards passing per game. Injuries to offensive line members at various times played a part in the numbers, too.). Born: Wide receiver Marcus Johnson, who caught five passes for 100 yards against the Saints, missed the first three weeks of the season. Typically, a base defense lines up with seven defenders in the box. Pro Bowl wide receiver A.J. Mental and physical toughness? Tannehill leads the league in touchdowns and in passer rating (144.6) in 2nd-and-short-to-medium situations, with a 76.6% completion rate and 9.4 yards per pass attempt. King didn't rule out Levis remaining on the bench for the entirety of 2023 if Tennessee sticks with Tannehill or prefers to start Willis. Hes averaging 11.2 yards per completion this season, more than a 20 percent drop from his NFL-best figure of 13.6 in 2019, and a dip from last years 12.1-yard average as well. He threw for 773 yards on play-action passes, the fourth-highest total in the NFL, and averaged 16.1 yards on his completions. . Theres also the ability to excel under pressure, evidenced by the three game-winning drives hes led this season 12 in his 38 games as a Titan. He became the first player in NFL history to run for 175 or more yards in back-to-back games, as he led the Titans to the AFC Championship game. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. The team picked up veteran Adrian Peterson in the immediate aftermath, but that moves the needle little to none. Chad Reuter reveals his final quick-snap grades for all 32 teams based on their decisions from all three days of the 2023 NFL Draft. I evaluate his toughness. Downing vowed to avoid "jerking the wheel" on the offense when Henry went down. NOTES: Jones was limited Wednesday by his hamstring. Tannehill only got to 10 TD passes last weekend with his second three-TD game of the season. Henry also keeps the Titans offense out of 3rd-and . In other words, opponents know Derrick Henry is coming, but they cant really over-commit to stopping him, even though the splits above suggest they could hold him to 3.3 yards or so per rush. That was . The strong-armed quarterback was one of the most polarizing prospects in the 2023 NFL Draft, sporting big-time traits but inconsistent on-field performances. Tannehill averaged 12.53 yards per attempt that season. So Derrick Henry helps keep Ryan Tannehill out of 2nd-and-long and 3rd-and-long situations. Keep moving, Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill said Wednesday.