Derrick Henry is entering his age-32 season, a point where practically every other running back in NFL history has broken down or transitioned into a backup role, but the normal laws of aging simply do not apply here. He remains the most consistent rushing force in the sport, racking up over 300 touches in 4 straight seasons and bulldozing his way to 12 or more rushing touchdowns in 4 consecutive years, as well as 7 of his past 8.
Should You Draft Derrick Henry in Fantasy Football?
As of early September, PFN’s Free Fantasy Mock Draft Simulator has a current ADP on Henry of 19.4. That’s a late second-round pick in most leagues. PFN’s fantasy football experts Jason Katz and Kyle Soppe have him at an 18th overall ranking. That’s RB9 in fantasy football this year, around the range right under De’Von Achane of the Miami Dolphins and right above Kenneth Walker of the Kansas City Chiefs.
I think you need to know what you’re getting yourself into with Henry, and that’s not a lot of receiving value. That’s never been his style necessarily, not when he was with the Titans and not when he’s been with the Ravens. He’s had fewer than 20 catches in each of his last two seasons in Baltimore.
But he’s someone who’s going to be able to handle a heavy workload in the run game. You’re looking at somebody who’s had over 300 carries in 4 of his last 6 seasons. He’s combined for 32 rushing touchdowns over the last two seasons. He almost had 2,000 rushing yards in 2024, and he almost had 1,600 rushing yards in 2025. He’s going to absolutely put up numbers on the ground if he can stay healthy.
But there’s the reception aspect of his production, him being maybe a little more touchdown reliant as a result of his lack of passing-down value, and the fact that he’s 32 years old. Henry’s been phenomenal throughout his entire NFL career, but eventually Father Time gets to everybody. The question becomes, when is Henry eventually going to slow down?
At his current ADP, with him being a late second-round pick, I’d absolutely take a shot on him. Looking at that Ravens backfield, I don’t anticipate anybody’s going to take that starting spot from him, even if he does regress in any capacity. But my thinking is he hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down. He’s a touchdown machine. He’s had double-digit rushing touchdowns every single year since 2018. That’s nuts.
Henry’s a guy I’m absolutely targeting at his current ADP as a late second-round pick, currently 19.4. Henry, I think, could be a steal in that range.
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Derrick Henry’s Week 1 Fantasy Outlook
Analysis provided by PFN Analyst Kyle Soppe.
The Colts allowed the third-fewest yards per carry after contact to RBs last season, a nice stat to have, but also a cute way of saying that they didn’t face the Ravens last season.
They say that “age is nothing but a number,” and that’s true; it’s just not a number that the 32-year-old Henry seems to care about (4 straight seasons with at least a dozen rushing scores).
Father Time is eventually going to win this battle, but if we’ve learned anything from the past handful of years across the professional sports landscape (LeBron James, Tom Brady, Matthew Stafford, etc.), the ability to delay the inevitable is possible for historical outliers.
Henry is an outlier in every sense of the word, and if you’re betting against him, it’s probably not in a reasonable matchup with no reason to not assume full health.
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Where Henry Ranks Among 2026 Running Backs
- Jonathan Taylor | IND
- James Cook III | BUF
- Christian McCaffrey | SF
- Saquon Barkley | PHI
- Chase Brown | CIN
- Derrick Henry | BAL
- De'Von Achane | MIA
- Kenneth Walker III | KC
- Omarion Hampton | LAC
- Jeremiyah Love | ARI
- Ashton Jeanty | LV
Want to dive in more? PFN's Complete PPR Running Back Rankings are updated weekly.
