Zeke vs Derrick Henry (Final Numbers)

[Praxit]

...lets just say, it was a fateful season for Henry. On the other hand, Zeke finally calmed down little to late.

 

[G2]

Henry was easily the best RB in the NFL. Not just better than Elliott, but better than EVERYONE. 500 yards more than the next best RB. More than 60+ attempts, more TDs than anyone, more 20+ runs, 40+ runs, most 1st downs..........

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

Henry was easily the best RB in the NFL. Not just better than Elliott, but better than EVERYONE. 500 yards more than the next best RB. 60+ more carries, more TDs than anyone, more 20+ runs, 40+ runs, most 1st downs..........

Right....he also gets more usage than anyone in the league...Once our offensive line gets back healthy I think Zeke will be ok.

 

[EPL0c0]

Zeke
4 runs* of 40+ yards in 1,413 career carries

*3 of those runs coming in 2016

Henry
11 runs of 40+ yards in just 1,182 career carries

Aaron Jones
8 runs of 40+ yards in just 651 career carries
2017: 46
2018: 67
2019: 56, 42
2020: 59, 46,77, 75

 

[Mobinvans]

I’m huge zeke fan but has been a disappointment this year

 

[G2]

Right....he also gets more usage than anyone in the league...Once our offensive line gets back healthy I think Zeke will be ok.

Elliott also needs to get healthy. In my opinion, a lot wasn't illustrated on his injuries. He's always reliable and you can see a huge difference from the beginning of the season and prior to the game he missed. And they're significant because it's lower body.

 

[CT Dal Fan]

Not making excuses for Zeke, but for most of the season he had the likes of Brandon Knight, Terance Steele, Connor McGovern, and Cam Erving blocking for him.

Plus Henry had 134 more carries. If Zeke had Henry's number of carries (at 4 yards per rush) he'd have rushed for 1515 yards- nowhere near 2k, but pretty darn good.

 

[EPL0c0]

I’m huge zeke fan but has been a disappointment this year

part of me wonders if he hasn't had any lingering effects from the virus.

Zeke just didn't look like Zeke this year. He didn't have that same burst, he wasn't cutting hard like he has in the past... he just looked off.

hopefully a full off-season will make a difference

 

[Cmac]

But that pass blocking tho...

We saw TPollard chop block his own lineman yesterday. Trying to send someone to ER then IR.....on the last game of the season?

 

[Thomas82]

Well this will be the 2nd year in a row he’s led the league.

I doubt he’ll get 2K again, do you know if any RB has ever got 2K yards two yeas in a row? Even if healthy it seems that would be very hard to do due to so many different variables that are out of the players comtrol.

Just to answer your question, there hasn't been any RB to get 2,000 twice at all, let alone in consecutive seasons. In fact, here are the yardage totals in chronological order for the backs who previously hit the 2,000-yard mark, as well as their totals in the following seasons:

OJ Simpson
1973: 2003 yards
1974: 1125 yards

Eric Dickerson
1984: 2,105 yards
1985: 1,234 yards

Barry Sanders
1997: 2,053 yards
1998: 1,491 yards (retired after that season)

Terrell Davis
1998: 2,008 yards
1999: 211 yards (tore his ACL & MCL in Week 4)

Jamal Lewis
2003: 2,066 yards
2004: 1,006 yards (missed 4 games due to an ankle injury)

Chris Johnson
2009: 2,006 yards
2010: 1,364 yards

Adrian Peterson
2012: 2,097 yards
2013: 1,266 yards (missed 2 games with a sprained foot)


Random FYI:

*When OJ Simpson had his historic season, the NFL was still playing 14 games a season.

*Barry Sanders was the NFL's 3rd 2000-yard rusher, but the 2nd guy (OJ Simpson) to do it in 14 games. Let me explain: Barry's total in 1997 was 2,053. He had 53 yards in his first 2 games and then ran for an even 2,000 in the last 14. At 29, Barry was also the oldest RB to reach 2,000.

*Adrian Peterson finished 8 yards, yes.....EIGHT yards short of Eric Dickerson's single season record. What makes his 2,000-yard season so special is that he did it on a reconstructed knee. He tore his ACL and MCL late in the 2011 season.

 

[CalPolyTechnique]

We saw TPollard chop block his own lineman yesterday. Trying to send someone to ER then IR.....on the last game of the season?

I saw that too.

That said, when folks bring up Zeke’s pass protection prowess they overstate its importance to draw attention away from his lack of elite running ability.

Pass blocking is important but it’s sort of like discussing a QB and weighing the value of him being an elusive runner in the open field over his ability to actually throw the ball (accurately, with velocity, etc.).

Zeke is a good all-around back. He is not dynamic or special with the ball in his hands.

 

[aria]

Just to answer your question, there hasn't been any RB to get 2,000 twice at all, let alone in consecutive seasons. In fact, here are the yardage totals in chronological order for the backs who previously hit the 2,000-yard mark, as well as their totals in the following seasons:

OJ Simpson
1973: 2003 yards
1974: 1125 yards

Eric Dickerson
1984: 2,105 yards
1985: 1,234 yards

Barry Sanders
1997: 2,053 yards
1998: 1,491 yards (retired after that season)

Terrell Davis
1998: 2,008 yards
1999: 211 yards (tore his ACL & MCL in Week 4)

Jamal Lewis
2003: 2,066 yards
2004: 1,006 yards (missed 4 games due to an ankle injury)

Chris Johnson
2009: 2,006 yards
2010: 1,364 yards

Adrian Peterson
2012: 2,097 yards
2013: 1,266 yards (missed 2 games with a sprained foot)


Random FYI:

*When OJ Simpson had his historic season, the NFL was still playing 14 games a season.

*Barry Sanders was the NFL's 3rd 2000-yard rusher, but the 2nd guy (OJ Simpson) to do it in 14 games. Let me explain: Barry's total in 1997 was 2,053. He had 53 yards in his first 2 games and then ran for an even 2,000 in the last 14. At 29, Barry was also the oldest RB to reach 2,000.

*Adrian Peterson finished 8 yards, yes.....EIGHT yards short of Eric Dickerson's single season record. What makes his 2,000-yard season so special is that he did it on a reconstructed knee. He tore his ACL and MCL late in the 2011 season.

Ahhhh...very cool and informative, thanks for doing the research!

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

Elliott also needs to get healthy. In my opinion, a lot wasn't illustrated on his injuries. He's always reliable and you can see a huge difference from the beginning of the season and prior to the game he missed. And they're significant because it's lower body.

Yep and I wonder having Covid possibly hurt him too...

 

[Thomas82]

Ahhhh...very cool and informative, thanks for doing the research!

Not a problem.....like I mentioned yesterday, I was lucky enough to see all of the 2,000-yard rushers hit the mark except for the first 2. I wasn't born when OJ did it, and I was 4 when Eric Dickerson set the record. Given all the records that Cowboys RBs have set over the years, it would be nice to see one of our backs in Club 2K someday.

 

[starfan1]

I saw that too.

That said, when folks bring up Zeke’s pass protection prowess they overstate its importance to draw attention away from his lack of elite running ability.

Pass blocking is important but it’s sort of like discussing a QB and weighing the value of him being an elusive runner in the open field over his ability to actually throw the ball (accurately, with velocity, etc.).

Zeke is a good all-around back. He is not dynamic or special with the ball in his hands.

his pass catching and his blocking has regressed since draft as well IMO. That said we have a decent one two punch. There are things that Zeke does better than pollard and visa versa. Pollard just does it a hell of alot cheaper

 

[buybuydandavis]

Zeke:

244 att, 979 yds, 6 tds

Henry:

378 att, 2,027 yds, 17 tds

Henry had 378 carries and 397 touches. And he's heading for the playoffs. He's not going to last long with that load. He had very little load his first 3 seasons.

All in all, maybe his career up to this point is better than Zeke's.

Having said that, it should be a shock to no one that you could cherry pick the best RB in Zeke's class to be better than Zeke. That's the way RBs are. You could also point to a lot of RBs worse than Zeke.

Zeke was always a Romo Window pick, IMO. And on those terms, he was better than Henry, showing his quality immediately.

 

[Zordon]

Henry had 378 carries and 397 touches. And he's heading for the playoffs. He's not going to last long with that load. He had very little load his first 3 seasons.

All in all, maybe his career up to this point is better than Zeke's.

Having said that, it should be a shock to no one that you could cherry pick the best RB in Zeke's class to be better than Zeke. That's the way RBs are. You could also point to a lot of RBs worse than Zeke.

Zeke was always a Romo Window pick, IMO. And on those terms, he was better than Henry, showing his quality immediately.

Have you seen Henry's contract? They can cut him after next season with a minimal cap hit. They signed him to a smart team-friendly deal unlike the idiots in Dallas.

 

[mattjames2010]

Good lord they are running that dude into the ground. Statistics show that he’ll be out of the league in a year or two carrying the football that much. That’s literally insane.
It wasn’t that long ago that Zeke was averaging that kind of yardage and look what has happened to him quick, fast, and in a hurry.

He's been carrying it like that since high school. He's not a 5'10 RB, he's 6'3 and pure muscle. He's built for this. Height and weight makes a huge difference here.

And he, somehow, seems to take less big hits than Zeke.

 

[CalPolyTechnique]

his pass catching and his blocking has regressed since draft as well IMO. That said we have a decent one two punch. There are things that Zeke does better than pollard and visa versa. Pollard just does it a hell of alot cheaper

Yeah, I’ve never advocated for ditching Zeke unless it makes dollars and sense. I don’t view Zeke as the offensive version of Jaylon. Zeke still has utility even though he’s overpaid; his role just needs to be reimagined.

Jaylon is absolutely a bad football player and liability.

 

[buybuydandavis]

Have you seen Henry's contract? They can cut him after next season with a minimal cap hit. They signed him to a smart team-friendly deal unlike the idiots in Dallas.

Oh, yeah, Henry's contract is much more reasonable.

I was entirely against Zeke's contract. Still am.

I've been in favor of him being *cut* before his 2022 salary is guaranteed this March. Though cleaning up the fumbling problem has made that more borderline for me.

I'm going by career now. They're now close over their careers, with Zeke performing better early, and Henry better the last couple of years.