Can Derrick Henry Duplicate His Dominant Fantasy Football Debut With the Ravens in 2025?

The NFL is for the youths, and few get a worse rap than aging running backs.

Derrick Henry is adamant on defying labels.

In 2024, King Henry joined the Baltimore Ravens in his age-30 campaign after spending eight seasons with the Tennessee Titans. He saw just 13 carries for 46 yards in Baltimore's season opener and tricked us into thinking he was dust. That would go on to be his least productive game of the season by a notable margin. In fact, Henry netted a league-best and career-high 5.9 yards per carry in 2024.

Heading into his age-31 campaign, does Henry show any signs of slowing down? How should we approach him in fantasy football drafts? Let's investigate.

Derrick Henry's 2024 Season

Henry was the eighth running back and 17th overall player to be selected in 2024 fantasy football drafts, per FantasyPros' average draft position (ADP) data.

He ended up churning out 2,114 scrimmage yards and 18 touchdowns en route to an RB3 finish, averaging a gaudy 19.2 half-PPR points per game. Saquon Barkley and Jahmyr Gibbs were the only backs to finish ahead of him in the half-PPR format -- and not by much.

Henry was a tried-and-true league-winner in 2024, and he assuaged many of our concerns in the process. He and Lamar Jackson were able to not only coexist but thrive from a scores perspective with Lamar tossing 41 and running in 4 touchdowns as Henry ran for 16 scores and caught 2 of 'em.

As for his workload, Henry was good for a full 17 games and a whopping 344 touches. He's never been a bold figure in the receiving game and last season was no different. In fact, Henry's 22 targets were his lowest for a full season since 2018. It didn't really matter, though, as he was still a killer in PPR formats.

Can Henry repeat his dominant fantasy season in 2025?

Derrick Henry's Fantasy Football Outlook for 2025

Seeing that there were only four running backs to command north of 275 half PPR points in 2024 -- and Henry was one of them with 326.9 -- it's fair to want to get your hands on the best of the best at the position.

Is Henry still considered the best of the best?

Currently, Henry is being drafted at the 14th overall pick and is the 6th running back being taken off draft boards. So, despite the dominant showing last campaign, Henry's ADP is pretty in line with what it was last season.

The 31-year-old commanded a taxing 344 touches in 2024, so it's understandable why managers are opting for younger options in Bijan Robinson, Gibbs, and rookie Ashton Jeanty in front of Henry.

But there's still a ton to love about Henry, and he's a candidate to outdo his ADP once again this season.

For starters, Henry has proved durable throughout his NFL career. He missed nine games with a Jones fracture in 2021. Past that, he's missed just three games in his nine-year career, and only two were due to injury. Breaking off for a league-high 19 big runs last year was a great way to prove he's still a total monster.

The best part about Henry? He's one of the more reliable touchdown scorers around. The Ravens were the third-highest scoring offense in the league last year (30.5 points per game) and have the shortest Super Bowl LX odds (+650), per FanDuel Sportsbook.

If Lamar and Henry both stay healthy, Baltimore's running back will be in line to lead his position in touchdowns for a second straight season. Henry's rushing touchdown prop is listed at 12.5 with -130 odds on the over. Mind you, FanDuel is factoring in the possibility of missed games, and no other RB's rushing TD prop is set higher than 10.5. Of course, Henry gets less action in the receiving game than some of his positional peers, but those rushing scores are nonetheless an intriguing, sticky trait.

FantasyPros' half PPR projections have Henry down for 1,468 rushing yards on 280.5 carries in 2025, forecasting a notable decline in efficiency, workload, and in turn, overall output compared to his 2024 campaign. Nonetheless, that projection has Henry in line for an RB4 standing behind only Saquon, Bijan, and Gibbs.

Had Henry's insane 2024 ROI resulted in having to pay a tax on him in this year, I'd understand wanting to fade the 31-year-old. But with his ADP sitting close to last year's, Henry has a chance to reward his fantasy managers for the second straight season.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.