Baltimore Beatdown
The King reclaims his throne in PFF’s annual running back list
Derrick Henry has been well-established as one of the league’s best running backs for some time now. Since he entered the NFL in 2016, Henry has more rushing production than any other player. Now 31 years old, Henry has staved off any anticipated drop-off in performance and proved last season that he’s still at the peak of his powers.
In his first year with the Baltimore Ravens, Henry rushed for 1,921 yards and 16 touchdowns with a career-high mark in yards per carry (5.9). He totaled 94 first down runs and crossed the 100-yard threshold in 10 games, including the postseason. His efforts earned him a lucrative two-year contract extension with the Ravens this offseason.
Unsurprisingly, Henry is once again receiving high national recognition. In Pro Football Focus’ recent annual Top 32 running backs list for 2025, the future Hall of Famer earned the top spot at No. 1 — one place higher than last year where he ranked No. 2 for the 2024 season.
Even at 31 years old, King Henry is deserving of this list’s No. 1 spot” wrote PFF’s Trevor Sikkema. “He led the NFL in PFF rushing grade in 2024 (93.5), winning PFF’s Best Runner award ... last season, he forced the most missed tackles (89) and ripped off the second-most runs of 10 yards or more (53).”
As Sikkema notes, Henry’s was not only the top-graded runner in all of football but also caused the most missed tackles with a whopping 89, which tracks with his long history of being a nightmare for defenders. Henry had a 10+ yard rush in all but one game (Week 1) and had a 20+ yard run in 13 games, displaying his breakaway big-play abilities.
Henry was expected to be a seamless fit with Lamar Jackson in the team’s backfield but wound up exceeding expectations. While the Ravens ultimately came up just short in the divisional round of the playoffs, Henry still rushed for 84 yards and a touchdown against the Buffalo Bills in that game.
The only player with more rushes of double-digit yardage than Henry was Saquon Barkley of the Philadelphia Eagles, who cracked the No. 2 spot on PFF’s rankings. It wouldn’t have come as a surprise for Barkley to be No. 1 instead of Henry given the former rushed for over 2,000 yards last season and was the driving cataylst for the Super Bowl champions.
Nevertheless, both players are undoubtedly the league’s top two players at the position right now. Rounding out the Top 5 of the list is two rising youngsters, Bijan Robinson and Jahmyr Gibbs, and another veteran in Josh Jacobs. You can view the entire 32-player rankings here.
Do you agree that “King Henry” is the best running back in the league? Join in on the conversation with your thoughts below!
