INDIANAPOLIS — The disconnect is as striking as it is puzzling.
By all measures, Alabama running back Derrick Henry should be the prize of the NFL draft at his position.
Not only does the 6-foot-3 prospect have freakish size (he weighed in at the NFL Scouting Combine Wednesday at 247 pounds), but Henry also is coming off a dream season in which he won the Heisman Trophy while practically carrying the Crimson Tide to another national championship.
In an earlier NFL era, before the position had been so devalued by the passing game and backfield-by-committee, that would have been enough to make Henry a contender for the No. 1 pick.
Instead, Henry arrived in Indianapolis this week just trying to talk and work his into the first round — much less the first-overall choice — and isn’t even considered the top-rated running back in the draft.
That designation belongs instead to Ohio State’s Ezekiel Elliott, a perceived snub that is providing motivation for Henry as he goes through interviews and on-field workouts at Lucas Oil Stadium.
“You’ve just got to let it fuel you,” Henry said Wednesday about his apparent No. 2 ranking among backs. “The only thing you can worry about is what you can control.”
Henry, who declared for the draft after his junior season, couldn’t have put together a more impressive résumé.
Just his size alone is eye-popping. If Henry had been in the NFL last season, he would have been both the tallest and heaviest (listed) halfback in the entire league.
Henry’s statistics were staggering, too. He averaged 5.6 yards per carry while rushing for an SEC-record 2,219 yards and 28 touchdowns, paving the way for him to collect not only the Heisman but the Maxwell Award, the Walter Camp Player of the Year award and the Doak Walker Award as the country’s top running back.
But for all that success, scouts see a player in Henry who runs straight ahead, doesn’t appear to have much lateral quickness and is suspect both catching the ball out of the backfield and in picking up the blitz as a blocker.
There is also the lingering concern about all players from Alabama — that Nick Saban’s intense coaching style chews them up.
Henry, for instance, carried a staggering 395 times last season, a figure Eddie George — the back compared most often to Henry — eclipsed just once in his entire NFL career.
Elliott is considered a more versatile back, making him attractive to a team like the Jets that might be in the market for a runner in the first round.
“I think the biggest difference is lateral quickness and burst,” NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock said. “Ezekiel Elliott is just about as fast sideways as he is forward, and he’s probably going to run 4.45 at 225 pounds. So he’s got great speed. But his lateral acceleration, burst, lower body toughness … all of those things add up to me. First round.
“When you look at Henry, he’s a tall, high-cut, long-legged back, which is atypical,” Mayock added. “And those backs struggle in the NFL, just because there’s a lot more vertical mass to contain that. Having said that, I really like the kid. When I say he’s an early second-round pick, that means a lot to me.
“I value a second-round running back. I think [Henry] can carry the ball 25 times a game. I think he gets stronger as the game goes on. And although I think his feet aren’t the same as Elliott, I think he’s got good feet and he’s difficult to tackle. So I value him.”
Henry is motivated to change that, but at the same time, sounds pessimistic about his ability to essentially fight city hall.
“[The diminished draft value of running backs] is just how the game has evolved, and you’ve got to take it for what it’s worth,” Henry said. “You’ve got to make the teams want to draft you. It’s all on the player now, at least at running back, and I can accept that. I’m ready to get after it.”