Derrick Henry in Hall of Fame company with second straight year leading NFL in rushing

Posted by Michael David Smith on December 31, 2020, 9:19 AM EST
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Titans running back Derrick Henry will lead the NFL in rushing for the 2020 season, and he’ll do so easily. Henry currently leads the NFL with 1,777 rushing yards, while Vikings running back Dalvin Cook is second at 1,557 yards. Cook will miss Sunday’s season finale, and no one else is even within 700 yards of Henry, so Henry has the rushing lead wrapped up.

Henry also led the NFL in rushing last year, so he now has two straight years as the league leader.

That puts Henry in some very elite company: Since World War II, every player who has led the NFL in rushing for two consecutive years has ended up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The players who have led the NFL in rushing in consecutive years since World War II are:

2019-2020: Derrick Henry.

2006-2007: LaDainian Tomlinson.

1999-2000: Edgerrin James.

1996-1997: Barry Sanders.

1991-1993: Emmitt Smith.

1983-1984: Eric Dickerson.

1978-1980: Earl Campbell.

1972-1973, 1975-1976: O.J. Simpson.

1967-68: Leroy Kelly.

1957-1961, 1963-1965: Jim Brown.

1953-1954: Joe Perry.

1947-1949: Steve Van Buren.

Henry is joining an impressive group.

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31 responses to “Derrick Henry in Hall of Fame company with second straight year leading NFL in rushing”

  6. When I look at Derrick Henry, the RB I see and think about is Earl Campbell. In 60 years of watching pro football, I never saw a more physical RB than Campbell. It took 3 guys and a mule to bring him down. The same goes for Derrick Henry. Campbell loved knocking DB’s — and even LB’ers — on the ground, and so does Henry.
    So — knowing the physical problems Campbell has said since he retired, I can’t help but think about the damage Henry is doing to his body. I hope he doesn’t suffer down the road the way Earl Campbell has , but being as physical as Henry is, it takes a heavy toll.

  8. scubasteve says:
    December 31, 2020 at 9:41 am
    Thats two more times that Frank Gore has ever lead the league in rushing.
    —-
    Yet Gore is still third all time rushing. I will never consider a top echelon rusher in the same class as a Barry Sanders, Jim Brown, Walter Payton, etc but he has easily had a hall of fame career.

  11. And people don’t want to give Henry the MVP this year. SMH.

    P.S. Gore is nothing more than a compiler. Had some good years with SF but never stood out like Henry has done consistently.

  13. As great as Henry is, he SHOULD NOT get the MVP Award. The reason is simple: there is no more demanding position in any sport than QB. It is the toughest position to play, by far.
    It requires more mentally than any other position in any sport as well as tremendous physical ability, too.
    QB’s have to take a snap and decide in les than 2 seconds who to throw the ball to, then they have to make an accurate throw. All the while, there are men weighing anywhere from 250 to 300 lbs rushing at you to try to take your head off. Anyone who says QB’s are not tough men is delusional.
    There is only one guy who should be the MVP in 2020, and that is Aaron Rodgers. He is playing at the highest level he has ever played and he doesn’t have the best roster of talent around him. That distinction goes to Patrick Mahomes. It’s amazing what Rogers has done this year at age 37.
    Patrick Mahomes is the guy anyone would want if they were starting a team right now — no question — but that’s only because of his age. He has not been better than Aaron Rodgers this year. If you don’t believe it, look at ALL the important statistics regarding QB’s and you will see I am 100% right. And don’t talk to me about wins, either, because wins are a team statistic.
    If Rogers doesn’t win the MVP, then it’s obvious it’s just another popularity contest. No one has played better QB than Rodgers this year.

  14. cember 31, 2020 at 9:52 am
    When I look at Derrick Henry, the RB I see and think about is Earl Campbell. In 60 years of watching pro football, I never saw a more physical RB than Campbell. It took 3 guys and a mule to bring him down.

    —————————-

    have you never seen jim brown run?

  15. trentdilfer08 says:
    December 31, 2020 at 11:04 am
    Henry is a lock for the HOF.

    —————————————

    i know hes good but stop with the hyperbole please. damn give it some time. He hasnt been doing it long enough and anything can happen.

  16. collectordude says:
    December 31, 2020 at 9:41 am
    Jim Brown= GOAT
    ————————————————————
    Jim Brown was great, as were several others on list of two-time rushing leaders, but the best was the very elusive Barry Sanders who did it while playing for a mediocre Lions team.

  19. jbcommonsense says:
    December 31, 2020 at 12:22 pm
    collectordude says:
    December 31, 2020 at 9:41 am
    Jim Brown= GOAT
    ————————————————————
    Jim Brown was great, as were several others on list of two-time rushing leaders, but the best was the very elusive Barry Sanders who did it while playing for a mediocre Lions team.

    —–

    OJ was the best. He played on horrible Bills teams and everyone knew OJ would be getting the ball and he still put up huge numbers game to game. And once he got into the open field….forget it.

  20. nhpats2011 says:
    December 31, 2020 at 1:09 pm
    jbcommonsense says:
    December 31, 2020 at 12:22 pm
    collectordude says:
    December 31, 2020 at 9:41 am
    Jim Brown= GOAT
    ————————————————————
    Jim Brown was great, as were several others on list of two-time rushing leaders, but the best was the very elusive Barry Sanders who did it while playing for a mediocre Lions team.

    —–

    OJ was the best. He played on horrible Bills teams and everyone knew OJ would be getting the ball and he still put up huge numbers game to game. And once he got into the open field….forget it.

    ——————————————————————————————

    I laugh when I read that Barry Sanders or OJ were better than Jim Brown. Jim Brown was on another planet when it comes to RB’s.

  21. Jim Brown was a dominant runner only.
    He never wanted to block and Payton would hammer defenders, blocking or running.

  22. Henry plays in an era where defenders dont want to tackle. Eddie George played when every defender was trying to stop the runner …

  25. For me the trinity of running backs will always be Jim Brown(father), Barry Sanders(son), and Walter Payton(holy spirit). And then everybody else.

    That said, Derrick Henry is a beast and fun to watch.

  27. When I saw the gap between Smith and Sanders (1994-95), I was a tad confused. Who were the mystery running backs who broke won the rushing titles those years?

    It was Sanders and Smith. They’d just traded the rushing title back and forth.

  28. Jim Brown played on a championship team in the 1960s, while Barry Sanders had to carry the troubled Lions throughout the 1990s to gain his stats. Different era and Sanders had less support around him than Brown did.

  29. directdriver says:
    December 31, 2020 at 3:48 pm
    For me the trinity of running backs will always be Jim Brown(father), Barry Sanders(son), and Walter Payton(holy spirit). And then everybody else.

    That said, Derrick Henry is a beast and fun to watch.

    ——————————————————-

    Can’t argue with the guys you named. All of them were at the top of the heap. But my list of the greatest RB’s I’ve seen since I’ve been watching the NFL (60 years) is this: (and it doesn’t mean I am right and you are wrong, it’s just my opinion).
    1) Jim Brown
    2) Gayle Sayers
    3) Walter Payton
    4) Earl Campbell
    5) Bo Jackson
    6) John Riggins
    7) Jimmy Taylor
    8) Eric Dickerson
    9) Barry Sanders
    10) O.J. Simpson

  30. nflhistorybuff68 says:
    December 31, 2020 at 2:10 pm
    Jim Brown was a dominant runner only.
    He never wanted to block and Payton would hammer defenders, blocking or running.
    —–

    I’ve seen several NFL Films segments on the great Jim Brown. Cowboy defensive great Bob Lily was interviewed on a couple of them. He has always intimated that Brown was the best RB he ever faced. In one segment he even says he was knocked unconscious with a bent face mask when he tried to tackle him head on. But, he did say Brown had one weakness to his game…blocking. He said on passing downs the Cowboys defenders could come all out to get the QB knowing that Jim wouldn’t hit them. Brown comes on after the segment and said in hindsight that was one of the few things he regretted about his game. He hated blocking and didn’t put much effort into it.

  31. scubasteve says:
    December 31, 2020 at 9:41 am
    Thats two more times that Frank Gore has ever lead the league in rushing.

    Why the frank gore hate? Dude has never been the top TB in the league but he’s lasted and been at worst serviceable forever. Durability is in some ways more impressive than one or 2 super elite seasons and irrelevance

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