NFL teams try to find players on their rosters that have similar skills to their opponents to give them the best looks in practice. The media doesn't get to watch practice, but the Washington Commanders probably had players on their practice squad who filled the "Myles Garrett" role for the Cleveland Browns, the "Ja'Marr Chase" role for the Cincinnati Bengals and so on.
Teams don't often share that information, but coach Dan Quinn revealed who would best fit the "Derrick Henry" role in practice this week as they prepare for the Baltimore Ravens: nobody.
"There's no one that we have on our team that can simulate him for practice," Quinn said.
The Ravens should present several problems for the Commanders when they travel to M&T Bank Stadium over the weekend for their highly-anticipated matchup with the AFC North foe, but Henry will be one of the biggest -- literally and figuratively -- obstacles for the Burgundy & Gold. He leads the league with 572 rushing yards, and his blend of size and speed make him a unique challenge for every level of Washington's defense.
So, how does one stop a player who has a 6-foot-3, 247-pound frame and can still hit over 21 mph at 30 years old?
"You better have a really good tackling plan," Quinn said.
That might be an understatement when it comes to Henry, who signed with the Ravens over the offseason after an eight-year stint with the Tennessee Titans. Though he's perhaps not as consistently game breaking as he was five years ago, Henry is still showing that he's one of the top running backs in the league. He's leading the NFL with 572 yards, which puts him on pace for what would be his sixth 1,000-yard season since 2018, and he's tied with Kyren Williams for the most rushing touchdowns (6).
Another calling card for Henry has been how difficult he is to bring down, and that's the case once again in 2024. He's leading the league with 244 yards after contact and 11 broken tackles. And if he's not running over a defender, he's running past them; per Pro Football Focus, he has 302 breakaway yards through five games -- by far the most among running backs.
"He can also stiff arm...and he has a really good jab step," Quinn said. "That, to me, makes what's part of his superpower is the ability to have all three ways to stiff arm you, lower his shoulder and make you miss."
Quinn also wants to make sure that part of the Commanders' tackling plan is to get as many players as possible to help bring Henry down. Quan Martin subscribes to that philosophy, saying it's "all 11 guys to the ball."
"I think we play a physical style of defense, and I feel like that's gotta come to life on Sunday."
Still, there will be some moments where players see him one-on-one, and there are some different plans for how to approach that. For Benjamin St-Juste, who wants to make sure he's still able to perform his job of covering receivers after taking on Henry, plans to aim for legs to try and bring him down.
For players like Daron Payne and Jonathan Allen, they're inviting the contact.
"I want him to come to me," Payne said.
The Commanders' defense has performed better over the last two weeks, improving from 29th in yards per game to 14th, although they are still allowing 130 rushing yards per game. In fairness, that number does require some context; the Browns had just 14 rushing yards in the first half but ended with 104 because they didn't abandon the run game despite being down 34-6 at one point.
It was the same thing in Week 4 with the Arizona Cardinals, who had 64 rushing the first half but had 181 for the day because the Commanders were defending the pass rather than the run with the score getting out of hand.
So, perhaps the Commanders' run defense is playing better than people expect. Either way, Henry is a different challenge. The defense, however, seems ready for it.
"Obviously, we know who Derrick Henry is, but as a D-tackle, I think I'm more than prepared," Allen said.
