Watch: Derrick Henry highlights from 2016 NFL Combine

Derrick Henry at the #NFLCombine 6 years ago today.

What. An. Athlete.@Titans pic.twitter.com/ty3tCyXSj4

— NFL UK (@NFLUK) February 26, 2022

Before he was drafted as the next starting running back for the Tennessee Titans, Derrick Henry had to show his stuff at the 2016 NFL Combine.

After his showing at the combine, Pro Football Focus’ Michael Renner perfectly encapsulated the freak athlete that is Henry.

“Henry is a complete freak of nature. Nothing about his measurables suggests a running back, but it’s tough to argue with the Heisman winner’s choice of position. Henry put up some of the most eye-popping combine numbers in recent memory. He ran a 4.54 40-yard dash at 6-foot-4-inches, 247 pounds, while adding a 37-inch vertical, a 10-foot-10-inch broad jump, and 22 reps on the bench. The biggest knock on him, though—Henry’s change of direction—wasn’t eased, as his 7.2 three-cone time was one of the lowest in the class. Henry racked up the sixth-highest rushing grade in college on 396 carries a year ago.”

Henry went on to be drafted by the Titans in the second round of the 2016 NFL draft with the 45th overall pick. It’s safe to say there are more than a few teams who are now sorry they passed on him.

Since then, Henry has become the best running back in the NFL, and one of the most impactful players in the league, something he showed on the national stage during a dominant run in the 2019 playoffs.

He compiled three straight 1,000-yard seasons from 2018 through 2020, and led the league in rushing in back-to-back campaigns.

His best career accomplishment came in 2020 when he became the eighth player in NFL history to rush for 2,000 yards. For his efforts, Henry was voted the Offensive Player of the Year. An argument can be made he deserved the MVP, but that’s another debate for another day.

Henry dealt with serious injury for the first time in his NFL career in 2021. If not for that, Henry likely would have rushed for over 2,000 yards again, and he had a great chance to break the all-time single-season rushing yards mark.

Henry returned for the divisional-round matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals but was stifled in a game that saw the Titans lose, 19-16.

Regardless, Henry has been everything the Titans could have hoped for — and then some — thanks to his play on the field and charitable work off of it.

The 2022 NFL Combine will begin on Tuesday, March 1, and will run through Monday, March 7.