Baltimore Ravens’ running back Derrick Henry is a top-two running back in the NFL and is, without a doubt, the best back in the league over the last 10 years. He has amassed over 1,500 yards on the ground four times throughout his illustrious career and feasts in the red zone, stacking up double-digit touchdown campaigns every year he has been a starter.
Even at the age of 31, Henry is still dominating. His 2024 season with the Ravens was the most efficient of his career, totaling 1,921 yards, 16 touchdowns, and a career-high 5.9 yards per carry. Going into year 10, the stats are starting to inch close to some of the greatest tailbacks to grace the NFL gridiron.
Tyler Sullivan of CBS Sports listed some legendary milestones that NFL players could reach in the 2025 season, and Henry was among those with a career landmark in his sights. That milestone–top-five in all-time rushing touchdowns. Sullivan wrote:
“Henry enters the 2025 season knotted with NFL icon Jim Brown for the sixth-most career rushing touchdowns all-time with 106. By simply finding the end zone one more time, he'll hold sole possession of that spot in the NFL record books. However, Henry can also have an opportunity to jump into the top-five as well with Walter Payton just four touchdowns ahead of him at 110.”
Henry is preparing to cement his legacy in 2025
Henry is a future Hall of Famer. His numbers confirm that he is worthy of that honor. He has had one of the best primes of any player at his position and is going against the trend for older backs, still dominating deep into his career. Heading into 2025, he is showing no signs of slowing down.
As Sullivan wrote, Henry is just four rushing touchdowns away from tying Walter Payton for fifth all-time in the stat. However, he could reach as high as third in career rushing touchdowns. Adrian Peterson and Marcus Allen inhabit the fourth and fifth spots on the list, respectively. Peterson finished his career with 120 rushing touchdowns, and Allen retired with 123. It would take another historic season out of Henry, but he has shown he is more than capable of doing so.
Henry’s career-high in rushing touchdowns is 17 with the Tennessee Titans in 2020. He nearly replicated that mark twice in 2019 and 2024. While history would tell you that his 2025 campaign will finally see signs of him slowing down, the path of dominance he has been on could see him come close to reaching the top three in the statistical category. He would need to find paydirt 17 times to accomplish that goal.