Titans running back Derrick Henry is leading the league with 80 carries for 353 yards and three touchdowns. That’s no surprise, as he also led the league in carries, yards and rushing touchdowns in 2019 and 2020. But this year he’s doing something different: He’s also catching the ball.
Henry has never even caught 20 passes in any season of his NFL career, but this year he’s already caught 12 passes through three games, putting him on pace to catch 68 passes in a 17-game season. Henry said he’s happy to be there any time Ryan Tannehill needs to dump off a short pass.
“I am just trying to take advantage of the opportunities, being available if Ryan is looking to throw it to me, catch the ball and get the ball up the field and get try to get the most out of the play as I can,” Henry said, via Paul Skrbina of the Nashville Tennessean.
So far this season Henry has 92 touches, with 80 carries to go along with his 12 catches. That puts him on pace for a preposterous 521 touches this season, which would break the NFL record of 492, set by James Wilder in 1984. It’s probably not realistic to think Henry can keep up his current pace over a 17-game season, but the Titans won’t miss any opportunities to get him involved in the offense.
