The 2024 NFL campaign was the year of Saquon Barkley. After signing with the Philadelphia Eagles, Barkley posted the ninth 2,000 rushing yard season in league history. He won the Offensive Player of the Year honors and helped Philly capture Super Bowl LIX.
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Outside of being named MVP, there’s nothing else Barkley really could have accomplished in his Eagles’ debut. In the process, he overshadowed an otherworldly season from Derrick Henry. The 30-year-old rusher defied supposed age cliffs in his first year with the Baltimore Ravens, recording 1,921 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns.
Those numbers would represent career highs for 99% of running backs. However, Henry is far from normal. Back in 2020, he notched 2,027 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns. His status as one of the best rushers in NFL history is secure, but his playing days are far from done. He’s under contract through 2027, meaning he has at least three years in Charm City to climb the league’s rushing leaderboard.
Entering 2025, Henry sits 19th all-time in rushing yards (11,423). It’s possible that he moves into 18th place on his first carry of the season, as he trails Steven Jackson by just 15 yards. After that, he’s likely to plow his way past legends like Thurman Thomas (12,074), Franco Harris (12,120) and Marcus Allen (12,243), each of whom are Hall of Famers.
With 890 yards, Henry will pass Jim Brown for the 11th most rushing yards all-time. Henry hasn’t failed to reach 890 yards since 2017, when he was splitting time alongside DeMarco Murray in Tennessee. That includes 2021, when he racked up 937 yards in just eight games. It’s safe to say Henry, barring injury, will sit in 11th place at this time next year.
In honor of Derrick Henry scoring 100 TDs in his career, here’s every single one of them in one video pic.twitter.com/ftLm4xZhGI
— NFL (@NFL) October 7, 2024
However, Henry has his sights set above Brown. If he maintains his 1,542 rushing yard average from 2022-24, he’d finish the 2025 season with 12,965 yards. That would vault him above Tony Dorsett (12,739 yards) for 10th-most in NFL history. It’d take 1,837 yards for Henry to slip past Eric Dickerson (13,259 yards) into ninth place.
Henry has remained a step ahead of Father Time thus far, but it’s bound to catch him at some point. If he slows down and compiles 4,000 yards over his contract’s duration, he’ll have the fourth-most rushing yards in league history. You can see the top nine rushers of all-time below:
- Emmitt Smith – 18,355; Walter Payton – 16,726; Frank Gore – 16,000
- Barry Sandders – 15,269; Adrian Peterson – 14,918; Curtis Martin – 14,101
- LaDanian Tomlinson – 13,684; Jerome Bettis – 13,662; Eric Dickerson – 13,259
Henry’s first opportunity to add to his total comes against the Buffalo Bills on Sept. 7. He combined for 284 yards in two matchups (including playoffs) versus the Bills last season. With any luck, he’ll start off 2025 on the right foot and make his way up the rankings in short order.
