One of the more interesting backfields, I think, is in Tennessee. They’ve got Derrick Henry and Dion Lewis, and which one of those backs will finish with better numbers?
The offensive line seems fine. In Taylor Lewan and Jack Conklin, they might have the best pair of tackles in the league. And they’ve got a mobile quarterback, which can help open up a running game – defenses have to respect the ability of Marcus Mariota to keep the ball and pop outside for long runs.
Henry hasn’t quite launched yet, but he had a couple of touchdown runs over 70 yards last year and came up big in the playoff win at Arrowhead, running for 156 yards and a touchdown. Outside of his two long touchdowns, however, Henry averaged only 3.4 yards per attempt in the regular season last year while sharing time with DeMarco Murray.
Lewis was able to scramble to the top of the depth chart in New England last year and averaged 5.1 yards per carry. He ran for 625 yards in the second half of the season, tying for most in the league.
These backs are different shapes. Henry is unusually tall (6-foot-3) and weighs 247 pounds. Lewis is over a half foot shorter (5-8, 195), with a lot more ability to make people miss.
The Titans signed Lewis to a four-year deal worth $20 million. That’s not jaw-dropping money, but it’s enough that it seems like he’ll be on the field plenty.
Both of these backs are working out with the team now, and Matt LaFleur (their new coordinator) indicates they’ll be factor in prominently in the team’s offense.
“Until you get the pads on and really get going through preseason, I look at them both as 1A and 1B,” LaFleur said in an article posted by The Tennesseean. “I feel confident in both of those guys. They both bring a little bit different qualities to what they do. But I think we’ve got two really good backs that we’re excited about.”
The writer of the article, Jason Wolf, speculates that he expects Henry to do most of the heavy lifting. “Henry appears likely to serve on early downs and in short-yardage situations, and Lewis as a receiving threat out of the backfield. But they could be interchangeable.”
But LaFleur could be a key part of this situation. He’s spent the last three years as an assistant under Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay. Both of those coaches are big believes in throwing lots of short passes to running backs. And when it comes to catching the ball, Lewis is a lot better than Henry. That could have been the key factor behind them targeting Lewis as an early signing in free agency.
Last year in New England, Lewis caught 32 of the 35 passes thrown his way. That’s 91 percent – the best rate by any running back in the last four years.
| CATCH RATES FOR RUNNING BACKS | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Tgt | Rec | Yards | Avg | TD | Pct |
| Dion Lewis, N.E. | 35 | 32 | 214 | 6.7 | 3 | 91% |
| Joe Mixon, Cin. | 34 | 30 | 287 | 9.6 | 0 | 88% |
| Danny Woodhead, Balt. | 39 | 33 | 200 | 6.1 | 0 | 85% |
| Kareem Hunt, K.C. | 63 | 53 | 455 | 8.6 | 3 | 84% |
| Rex Burkhead, N.E. | 36 | 30 | 254 | 8.5 | 3 | 83% |
| Shane Vereen, NYG | 53 | 44 | 253 | 5.8 | 0 | 83% |
| DeMarco Murray, Tenn. | 47 | 39 | 266 | 6.8 | 1 | 83% |
| Matt Forte, NYJ | 45 | 37 | 293 | 7.9 | 1 | 82% |
| Mark Ingram, N.O. | 71 | 58 | 416 | 7.2 | 0 | 82% |
| Alvin Kamara, N.O. | 100 | 81 | 826 | 10.2 | 5 | 81% |
| LeVeon Bell, Pitt. | 106 | 85 | 655 | 7.7 | 2 | 80% |
| Lamar Miller, Hou. | 45 | 36 | 327 | 9.1 | 3 | 80% |
| Duke Johnson, Clev. | 93 | 74 | 693 | 9.4 | 3 | 80% |
| Charcandrick West, K.C. | 34 | 27 | 150 | 5.6 | 2 | 79% |
| Devontae Booker, Den. | 38 | 30 | 275 | 9.2 | 0 | 79% |
| Kyle Juszczyk, S.F. | 42 | 33 | 315 | 9.5 | 1 | 79% |
| James White, N.E. | 72 | 56 | 429 | 7.7 | 3 | 78% |
| Austin Ekeler, LAC | 35 | 27 | 279 | 10.3 | 3 | 77% |
| Javorius Allen, Balt. | 60 | 46 | 250 | 5.4 | 2 | 77% |
| LeSean McCoy, Buff. | 77 | 59 | 448 | 7.6 | 2 | 77% |
| Devonta Freeman, Atl. | 47 | 36 | 317 | 8.8 | 1 | 77% |
| Frank Gore, Ind. | 38 | 29 | 245 | 8.4 | 1 | 76% |
| DeAndre Washington, Oak. | 45 | 34 | 197 | 5.8 | 1 | 76% |
| Jerick McKinnon, Minn. | 68 | 51 | 421 | 8.3 | 2 | 75% |
| Leonard Fournette, Jac. | 48 | 36 | 302 | 8.4 | 1 | 75% |
| Jalen Richard, Oak. | 36 | 27 | 256 | 9.5 | 1 | 75% |
| Tarik Cohen, Chi. | 71 | 53 | 353 | 6.7 | 1 | 75% |
| Theo Riddick, Det. | 71 | 53 | 444 | 8.4 | 2 | 75% |
| Charles Sims, T.B. | 47 | 35 | 249 | 7.1 | 1 | 74% |
| Ty Montgomery, G.B. | 31 | 23 | 173 | 7.5 | 1 | 74% |
| J.D. McKissic, Sea. | 46 | 34 | 266 | 7.8 | 2 | 74% |
| Todd Gurley, LAR | 87 | 64 | 788 | 12.3 | 6 | 74% |
| Jamaal Williams, G.B. | 34 | 25 | 262 | 10.5 | 2 | 74% |
| T.J. Yeldon, Jac. | 41 | 30 | 224 | 7.5 | 0 | 73% |
| Chris Thompson, Wash. | 54 | 39 | 510 | 13.1 | 4 | 72% |
| Jordan Howard, Chi. | 32 | 23 | 125 | 5.4 | 0 | 72% |
| Giovani Bernard, Cin. | 60 | 43 | 389 | 9.0 | 2 | 72% |
| Ameer Abdullah, Det. | 35 | 25 | 162 | 6.5 | 1 | 71% |
| Wayne Gallman, NYG | 48 | 34 | 193 | 5.7 | 1 | 71% |
| Christian McCaffrey, Car. | 113 | 80 | 651 | 8.1 | 5 | 71% |
| Jay Ajayi, 2 tm | 34 | 24 | 158 | 6.6 | 1 | 71% |
| C.J. Anderson, Den. | 40 | 28 | 224 | 8.0 | 1 | 70% |
| Melvin Gordon, LAC | 83 | 58 | 476 | 8.2 | 4 | 70% |
| Bilal Powell, NYJ | 33 | 23 | 170 | 7.4 | 0 | 70% |
| Tevin Coleman, Atl. | 39 | 27 | 299 | 11.1 | 3 | 69% |
| Ezekiel Elliott, Dall. | 38 | 26 | 269 | 10.3 | 2 | 68% |
| Carlos Hyde, S.F. | 88 | 59 | 350 | 5.9 | 0 | 67% |
| Kenyan Drake, Mia. | 48 | 32 | 239 | 7.5 | 1 | 67% |
| Isaiah Crowell, Clev. | 42 | 28 | 182 | 6.5 | 0 | 67% |
| Andre Ellington, 2 tm | 59 | 39 | 369 | 9.5 | 0 | 66% |
| Marshawn Lynch, Oak. | 31 | 20 | 151 | 7.6 | 0 | 65% |
| Alex Collins, Balt. | 36 | 23 | 187 | 8.1 | 0 | 64% |
| Marlon Mack, Ind. | 33 | 21 | 225 | 10.7 | 1 | 64% |
| Matt Breida, S.F. | 36 | 21 | 180 | 8.6 | 1 | 58% |
As weigh Lewis against Henry, I think we can start with the assumption that Lewis will finish with at least 200 more receiving yards. Rushing yards might be pretty even. And when the ball’s on the 1- or 2-yard line, Henry is more likely to be the guy punching it in – he should score more touchdowns.
—Ian Allan