Baltimore Ravens: What does a healthy Willie Henry provide?

The Baltimore Ravens defensive line needs someone to step up as a pass rusher, and a healthy Willie Henry may be the right guy to do it.

Willie Henry has all the potential in the world to be the Baltimore Ravens best pass rushing defensive linemen on the current roster. While the rest of the crew specializes in gap-eating, run stuffing play, Henry has shown the upside to be the guy who generates pressure from the trenches. The only thing holding him back is injuries.

Since being drafted back in 2016, Willie Henry has played in just 17 of 48 possible games, with 14 of those coming from the 2017 season. When he’s been on the field, Henry has racked up an impressive 4.5 sacks and 35 tackles. When you watch #69 on the field you see a guy who simply out-muscles his opposition and has his way with offensive linemen.

The talent is no doubt there, he just can’t find a way to stay on the field. Still, we’ve seen this same story-line play out too many times before…

A full, healthy season for Willie Henry could get him a big payday, as he will be an unrestricted free agent following the 2019 season. It wouldn’t be the first time this happened to a Ravens player, either. History seems bound to repeat itself and Henry could be the benefactor in this.

That alone is enough to get Henry motivated, but his true goals will likely stay on the football field. The last time the Ravens saw a productive pass rush from its defensive line was when Timmy Jernigan was still with the team. Since then, the unit has built its strength off its big-men like Brandon Williams and Michael Pierce.

While there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that, as it has been a major reason Baltimore’s defense has clicked so well, it may not be a strong recipe for continued success in 2019. With all the losses the Ravens defense endured this off-season, particularly at edge rusher, the team is more desperate than ever for pass rushing efficiency. Matt Judon can’t do it all on his own, and the younger edge rushers have much to prove. This is where Willie Henry comes in.

We aren’t asking Henry to start 16 games for Baltimore. Rather, we’re hoping that Henry can provide a different aspect to the defensive line’s play-style. There’s plenty of meat to go around to stuff the run, but there are few who can collapse the pocket. A healthy Willie Henry provides that for the Ravens and it’ll make a night-and-day difference for them.

The bottom line here is that Willie Henry will change the entire perspective of the defensive line’s capabilities. He makes the unit more versatile by himself. Should he play 16 games, there’s no telling how much good he could give to the Baltimore Ravens retooled defense.

As the legendary band Aerosmith once sang, “It’s the same old story, same old song and dance.” A player for the Baltimore Ravens breaks out in their contract year and walks away with a new deal with a new team. Willie Henry will be more than worth it if he can put together a strong 2019 season. Should the stars align for Henry, mainly regarding his health, he could be the next Raven to follow this trend.