Derrick Lamar Henry Jr. is an American football running back for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide, and was drafted in the second round of the 2016 NFL draft by the Titans. In December 2015, he broke Herschel Walker's single-season college rushing yards record in the SEC. He won the 2015 Heisman Trophy, as well as the Doak Walker Award, the Maxwell Award, and the Walter Camp Award. Henry holds the national high school football record for career rushing yards.

Henry attended and played college football for the University of Alabama from 2013 to 2015. He majored in Communications. He graduated on May 4, 2018. That same day, he published an article in The Players' Tribune thanking his late grandmother for the inspiration to continue pursuing his degree.

As a true freshman in 2013, Henry rushed for 382 yards on 36 carries with three touchdowns. On October 19, against Arkansas, he had 111 rushing yards and his first collegiate rushing touchdown in the 52–0 victory. On November 23, against Chattanooga, he had six carries for 66 yards and his second rushing touchdown of the season. During the 2014 Sugar Bowl, he rushed for 100 yards and a touchdown on eight carries and had a 61-yard touchdown reception. In that game, Spanish-language broadcaster Pablo Viruega nicknamed him "El Tractorcito" (The Little Tractor) due to his long stride and powerful gait on ESPN Deportes. The nickname became a popular internet meme.

In the 2014 season, Henry shared time in the backfield with T. J. Yeldon. In the season opener against West Virginia, he had 113 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown. On September 20, against Florida, he had 111 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown. On October 18 against Texas A&M, he had 70 rushing yards, one rushing touchdown, and a 41-yard receiving touchdown. In the following game against Tennessee at Neyland Stadium, he had 78 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown. On November 22, against Western Carolina, he had 92 rushing yards, two rushing touchdowns, and a nine-yard receiving touchdown. In the annual rivalry game against Auburn, he had 72 rushing yards and a touchdown in the high-scoring 55–44 installment of the rivalry. In the SEC Championship against Missouri, he had 141 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns in the victory. Alabama qualified for the College Football Playoff and faced off against Ohio State in the National Semifinals in the Sugar Bowl. Henry had 95 rushing yards, one rushing touchdown, and two receptions for 54 yards as Alabama fell 42–35 to the Buckeyes. In his sophomore year, Henry rushed for 990 yards on 172 carries with 11 touchdowns.

After Yeldon left for the NFL, Henry took over as the starting running back as a junior in 2015. In the season opener against Wisconsin, he had 147 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns. In the next game, against Middle Tennessee State, he had 96 rushing yards and another game with three rushing touchdowns. In the next game against Ole Miss, he had 127 rushing yards, one rushing touchdown, and five receptions for 39 yards in Alabama's only loss of the season. After rushing for 52 yards against Louisiana–Monroe, he had 148 rushing yards and a touchdown in a victory over Georgia. On October 10, he rushed for 95 yards and a touchdown against Arkansas. After the victory over the Razorbacks, he went on an impressive stretch of performances. On October 17, against Texas A&M, he had 236 rushing yards, two rushing touchdowns, and an 18-yard reception. In the next game, a narrow 19–14 victory over Tennessee, he had 143 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. In the following game, he had 210 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns against LSU. In the next game against Mississippi State, he had 204 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. In the next game, against Charleston Southern, he had 68 rushing yards and two more rushing touchdowns in a limited role in the 56–6 victory. In the Iron Bowl against Auburn, he had 271 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown on 46 carries. In the SEC Championship against Florida, he had 44 carries for 189 yards and a touchdown. Alabama qualified for the College Football Playoff and faced off against Michigan State in the National Semifinals. In the 38–0 victory over the Spartans in the Cotton Bowl, he had 75 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. During Alabama's 45–40 victory over Clemson in the 2016 College Football Playoff National Championship, he rushed for 158 yards on 36 carries with three touchdowns. During the game, he also broke Shaun Alexander's record for most career rushing yards in Alabama history. Playing in all 15 games, he rushed for SEC records 2,219 yards and 28 touchdowns on 395 carries. In addition, he scored at least one touchdown in each game. Henry won the Heisman Trophy, beating out finalists Christian McCaffrey and Deshaun Watson. He won numerous other awards including the Doak Walker Award, Walter Camp Award, and Maxwell Award. He declared for the 2016 NFL Draft after his junior season.

Coming out of Alabama, Henry was projected by the majority of analysts to be either drafted in the late first or second round. He was the overall consensus second best running back available behind Ohio State's Ezekiel Elliott. Scouts regarded his main assets to be his large frame, violent running, ability to break tackles with ease, speed, long strides, superior conditioning, and consistent play. The main concerns were about the wear and tear his body took as a workhorse at Alabama, his slow acceleration, average foot quickness, below-average catching ability with his hands, narrow based running style, sluggish cutbacks, and his problem with running tall, although he was an extremely good power back.

Henry was drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the second round (45th overall) of the 2016 NFL Draft. He was the second running back taken that year. He was reunited with his former fullback at Alabama Jalston Fowler.

On May 9, 2016, the Tennessee Titans signed Henry to a four-year, $5.40 million contract with $3.30 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $2.13 million.

Henry began his rookie season as the backup running back to veteran DeMarco Murray. He wore the No. 2 jersey throughout training camp and preseason and donned the No. 22 once running back Dexter McCluster was cut on September 2, 2016. He made his professional regular season debut and earned his first career start in the Titans' season-opening loss to the Minnesota Vikings. Henry finished the game with five carries for 3 rushing yards and two receptions for 41 receiving yards.

On October 27, 2016, Henry scored his first NFL touchdown on a 6-yard run in a 36-22 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars. He finished the game with 16 carries for a then career-high 60 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown and 4 catches for 37 yards. On December 18, 2016, he had 9 rushing attempts for 58 rushing yards and a season-high 2 rushing touchdowns in a 19-17 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. During a Week 17 matchup against the Houston Texans, he ran for a then career-high 65 rushing yards on 15 carries and scored a touchdown in the 24-17 victory.

Henry finished his rookie season with 110 carries for 490 rushing yards (both 6th among NFL rookies in 2016) and 5 touchdowns in 15 games and two starts. He also caught 13 passes for 137 receiving yards.

Henry split carries with DeMarco Murray and run-oriented quarterback Marcus Mariota. On September 17, 2017, Henry ran for a then career-high 92-yards and a touchdown on 14 carries in a 37–16 victory against the Jacksonville Jaguars. On October 16, 2017, on Monday Night Football, Henry ran for a career-high 131-yards on 19 carries and ran for a 72-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter of the 36–22 victory over the Indianapolis Colts. In addition, he had a reception for 14 receiving yards in the victory. On December 3, 2017, Henry ran for 109 yards on 11 carries and beat his longest rush of the year with a 75-yard rushing touchdown late in the fourth quarter of the 24-13 victory over the Houston Texans. On December 31, 2017, Henry caught his first receiving touchdown on a 66-yard reception from Marcus Mariota.

The Titans finished second in the AFC South with a 9-7 record and made the playoffs as a Wild Card team. In the Wild Card round, the Titans played the Kansas City Chiefs. Because DeMarco Murray was out with a knee injury, Henry got the start. The Titans beat Kansas City 22-21. In the win, Henry had his best performance, rushing for a career-high 156 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries. He also caught 2 passes for 35 yards. In the Divisional Round against the New England Patriots, he had 28 rushing yards and 21 receiving yards in the 35–14 loss.

Henry finished the regular season with 176 carries for 744 rushing yards and five touchdowns in 15 games and two starts. He also caught 11 passes for 136 receiving yards and a touchdown. In the postseason, Henry ran for 184 yards and a touchdown on 35 carries and caught 5 passes for 56 yards.

Henry split carries with Dion Lewis for much of the 2018 season. During Week 2, Henry recorded an eight-yard pass completion, the first of his career, to Taywan Taylor in the Titans' 20–17 victory over the Houston Texans. He also had 18 carries in that game and the next, but was used much less frequently through the middle of the season, from Week 4 to Week 13, Henry averaged nine carries for only 37 yards per game, and never rushed for over 60 yards. This changed in Week 14 against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Henry had a 99-yard run, fending off three tacklers, tying him with Tony Dorsett for the longest NFL touchdown run. He finished the game with 4 touchdowns and 238 rushing yards, breaking Chris Johnson's franchise record of 228 yards in 2009. He also became the ninth player in NFL history to record a 200+ yard and 4+ touchdown game, and the first to do so on fewer than 22 carries. Henry was named the AFC Offensive Player of the Week for his performance. In Week 15, in a cold rainy game at the New York Giants Henry led the NFL in rushing for the second consecutive week with 170 yards on a career most 33 carries, along with a 1-yard reception and 6-yard pass completion in the 17-0 shut out.

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