NFL Execs, coaches and scouts disrespect the hell out of Ravens running back Derrick Henry in latest ranking

Every summer ESPN's Jeremy Fowler gets together with NFL coaches, execs and scouts to rank the top 10 of each position in the league. On Monday they put together their top 10 running backs list and new Ravens' running back Derrick Henry took quite a slap in the face.

After finishing the 2023 season second in rushing yards and second in rushing touchdowns, you would think he would be pretty high on this list. You might think that him being one of the NFL's best running backs for years would get him a default spot in the top five. It didn't. Henry came in at nine on this list. Here's what they had to say:

"Having more than 2,000 carries over eight years usually gets thirty-something backs out of here.

But Henry is still the king of yards after contact, leading the league with 619 last year. He hit 21.68 miles per hour on a long touchdown run at 247 pounds.

"He's a warrior," a veteran NFL coach said. "Just keeps himself in such good physical conditioning with offseason workouts. I don't see him slowing down over the next two years. He's a volume back with great size, breaks tackles, has deceptive speed and no one's really catching him if he gets going. I don't think he's lost a step."

Multiple people interviewed wonder about Henry's fit in Baltimore -- an I-formation back in a shotgun-heavy offense.

"It's definitely going to be interesting," an NFC scout said. "They will probably go with a little more pistol, which is like being underneath center, and he can get downhill."

The concerns are understandable, but were they understandable enough to put guys like Saquon Barkley, Jonathan Taylor, Bijan Robinson and Josh Jacobs ahead of him? All guys that didn't come near what Henry did on the ground last year. The closest is is Robinson and he had nearly 200 less yards and eight fewer touchdowns.

Things could be different for Henry on a new team, but the preparation has remained the same and we have continuously seen Henry bust through every wall that was supposed to stop him. The likelihood that he does it again is pretty good.

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