Darius Leonard on Derrick Henry: ‘In the offseason, I think about him’

Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry is so good, he has other NFL players like Indianapolis Colts linebacker Darius Leonard thinking about him while they train in the offseason.

While down at the Pro Bowl a few weeks back, Leonard admitted that the work he does in the offseason is at least partly based around how he can improve to better defend against Henry, per Jim Wyatt of Titans Online.

“In the offseason, I think about him (Henry),” Leonard said. “When I am working out, (I think): ‘What drills am I going to do to make me better to face Derrick Henry, one of the best backs in the league?’ I always joke and say he is like a defensive end playing running back. He is a workhorse, and you can see it in the offseason, and you can see it in the fourth quarter. When things get tough, he is breaking a run for 70 yards, and that just goes to show you what type of player he is. It is amazing competing against Derrick.”

“You face a guy in your division twice a year, someone who totes the ball a lot,” Leonard continued. “He is a freight train to bring down. So, you have to make sure who you are playing against and how you want to compete against him.”

Before injuring his foot in Week 8 against Leonard’s Colts, Henry tallied 181 rushing yards in two games versus Indy, including his 113-yard performance in Week 3 that also saw him run the All-Pro linebacker over.

Derrick Henry steamrolled Darius Leonard pic.twitter.com/iTWBI5C8BK

— Field Yates (@FieldYates) September 26, 2021

The Titans ended up winning both of their games against the Colts, which aided Tennessee in securing a second straight AFC South title and the No. 1 seed in the conference.

The Colts remain the biggest threat to the Titans in the division going into 2022, but Indianapolis has a big decision to make at quarterback first.