Let's get one thing out of the way at the top: Adrian Peterson loves him some Derrick Henry. Loves how hard he runs, loves how big he runs, loves how often he runs. The man is a throwback to a time when running backs ruled the NFL, and also a running back the NFL's never seen.
"Having an opportunity to watch him play has always been spectacular," Peterson said Thursday as the Lions prepare to take on Henry and the Titans this weekend. "He's bigger than the linebackers. You look at what he did to Josh Norman, I know when people watch film on him they know gotta come strapped up and ready to wrap up."
Once upon a time, Peterson was in Henry's shoes. The next great running back in a league trending toward the pass, the next great workhorse in a game with few horses left. Peterson took the torch from guys like Edgerrin James and LaDainian Tomlinson, and he carried it for a long time with Frank Gore. He'd just as soon carry it forever.
But he knows he can't keep it from Henry. Not anymore.
"Now that I’ve been watching this young guy for a couple years, he’s definitely showing that he is the next best thing. So as far as the torch being passed, I can’t say that that’s something I want to do, but he’s taken it based on how he has produced over the past few years and how unstoppable he’s been, especially this year," Peterson said. "It’s amazing just to see him do his thing."
Henry, 26, had the most carries, the most yards and the most touchdowns in the NFL last year. He has the most carries, the most yards and the most touchdowns in the NFL this year. He's poised to become the league's first back-to-back rushing champion since Tomlinson in 2006 and 2007, and he's got a good chance to join Peterson as one of eight players to go for 2,000 yards in a season. He's on pace for 1,885.
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Workhorse? Henry has 600 carries over the past two seasons, nearly 80 more than the next-closest player. Last week he took it 26 times and piled up 215 yards, and it was the Jacksonville defense that felt it. That's the benefit of being 6'3 and 235 pounds. Peterson, 6'1 and 220 pounds, would know.
"He’s one of those guys who doesn’t take a lot of punishment. He’s punishing other guys, and that’s a big difference. Being able to be the guy that’s initiating those blows, especially when you got guys trying to tackle you low, that helps your body when you’re carrying the ball 250, 300 times a season," Peterson said.
There's a misnomer about Henry, that he's a brute-force runner. That he pounds the ground with every step, that he plows into defenders at every turn. Sometimes, that's true. Just ask Norman. And other times it sells Henry short. Peterson, a lover of football history, described Henry as a combination of the 6'3 Eddie George and the 5'11 Terrell Davis.
"Probably a lot of people wouldn’t think that, but he’s really quick on his feet. His cuts are nice and precise. Half the time it doesn’t look like he’s running really hard, but he is," Peterson said. "It’s a big stature, 240 pounds. But those would be the guys, Eddie George because of the height and the size and then Terrell Davis (because of) the vision and finesse."
Maybe the best comparison for Henry is right before our eyes, still plowing ahead 14 years after entering the league. Peterson's advice? Take care of your body. And don't let your mind accept anything less than being the best there ever was.
"You have respect for the OG’s like me and guys that came before us, but there’s nothing wrong with having a mindset that you want to be the best to ever do it," Peterson said. "Outside of that, if you’re not thinking that way, you’re cheating yourself."
Peterson has passed the torch. Let's see how far Henry can carry it.