Derrick Henry's NFL Top 100 Ranking Revealed
The trend of Ravens players inexplicably falling in the NFL Top 100 continued with running back Derrick Henry dropping eight spots to No. 15.
At least Henry's fall in the rankings determined by voting by players wasn't as precipitous as quarterback Lamar Jackson's, who plunged an absurd 67 spots to No. 69.
"No matter his age, no matter the wear and tear, the Henry freight train keeps going full speed ahead, blowing through stops and defenders," NFL.com’s Grant Gordon wrote. "Shaking free of some early fumble problems and a disappointing Ravens season overall, Henry rumbled to his second straight 1,500-plus-yard-rushing season and the fifth of his career.
"His age-31 campaign also saw him record 16 rushing scores for a second straight year, a mark he's hit four times in his career. He's found the end zone at least 10 times for eight years running. Despite finishing 27 yards short of his third career rushing title last season, King Henry was not a Pro Bowler. Fortunately, NFL players saw fit to vote him into the Top 100 for the eighth time – all consecutively – and as a top-20 talent for the fifth time."
With the top 14 players still to be revealed, Henry is the fourth and likely final Ravens player to make the list.
Joining Henry and Jackson in the NFL Top 100 are safety Kyle Hamilton (No. 63, down 12 spots), inside linebacker Roquan Smith (No. 65, down 25 spots), and wide receiver Zay Flowers (No. 71, his debut in the rankings).
Adrian Peterson Believes Henry Can Play at High Level for 'Several More Years'
Former running back great Adrian Peterson doesn't expect to see Father Time get the better of Henry any time soon.
"He's obviously gifted," Peterson told RG’s Kyle Odegard. "He's gifted with size, good speed, agility. To be that big and to move the way he moves, it's been impressive to see him do that, and continue to do it here at 32 years old. I feel like if he can keep his head in it, keep God first, and keep putting work in, shoot, he can do it for several more years at that level."
Peterson knows about longevity and remaining productive into his 30s. In the 15-year veteran's age-33 season with Washington in 2018, he rushed for 1,042 yards.
Peterson is sixth on the all-time rushing list with 14,918 yards. It's likely that Henry, who is 10th on the list with 13,018 yards, will eventually pass him.
"Man, it's impressive to see him continue to play at such a high level," Peterson said. "He's such a big back. He does an amazing job of taking care of his body. To me, I know that's what it takes. It's taking care of your body and putting the work in. If you've got a great supporting cast around you on the field, at the running back position you can really do some incredible things."
ESPN analyst Louis Riddick said any suggestion that Henry showed signs of slowing down last season is off base.
"Derrick is a freak. He really is," Riddick said on “Get Up.” "His yards after contact per rush [last season], he was like fourth in the league. His yards per rush before contact, he was middle of the pack, which tells you offensive line play wasn't as good as it typically has been. And they tried to address that this year. They drafted Vega Ioane out of Penn State in the first round, securing the interior of the offensive line. His number of explosive, 10-plus-yard runs, he was top four in the league. So he still has game-breaking ability."
Malaki Starks, Teddye Buchanan Predicted to Make Year 2 Leaps
The Ravens already have one Pro Bowl safety in Hamilton. Could they have two this season?
NFL.com's Kevin Patra named one potential first-time Pro Bowler for each team, and safety Malaki Starks was his pick for Baltimore.
"Perhaps no player in Baltimore will benefit more from the hire of [Head Coach] Jesse Minter than Malaki Starks," Patra wrote. "The second-year safety displayed versatility that should be used even more heavily under the first-year head coach. Starks gained a wealth of experience during his rookie season, positioning him to make a massive Year 2 leap under a defensive architect who is on the record stating that the 22-year-old 'has the license to be as good as he wants to be.'"
Hamilton, who has made three consecutive All-Pro and Pro Bowl teams, doesn't need any convincing about the 2025 first-round pick's potential.
"He has all the talent, all the mentality, just the approach to the game that I mean — very soon here, I wouldn't be surprised if he is the best safety in our league," Hamilton said last month.
Another player who could make a Year 2 leap is inside linebacker Teddye Buchanan, who was named the Ravens' breakout candidate by Pro Football Focus’ Gordon McGuinness.
"Linebacker Teddye Buchanan had started to impress before a season-ending injury derailed his rookie campaign," McGuinness wrote. "After taking over a starting role in Week 2, the 2025 fourth-round draft pick earned a PFF overall grade above 60.0 in five of his final six games and ranked 31st among linebackers in PFF run-defense grade (70.8)."
Buchanan, who suffered a torn ACL in December, returned to practice this week. General Manager Eric DeCosta said Buchanan had one of the "top 1% of rehabs" he's ever witnessed in 30 years.
Healthy Jackson, New Coaching Staff Are Biggest Reasons for Optimism About 2026 Ravens
McGuinness identified the strongest case for optimism for all 32 teams. For the Ravens, it's a healthy Jackson and new-look coaching staff.
"Jackson missing time and playing through injury clearly played a major role in the Ravens' struggles last season, but a healthy Jackson paired with new Offensive Coordinator Declan Doyle can rejuvenate the offense," McGuinness wrote. "Doyle learned under Sean Payton and Ben Johnson, so expect the Ravens to lean more on three-receiver sets and use plenty of motion. It's also worth noting that while Jackson had a down year, he earned a 91.4 PFF overall grade over his final four games of the season. That came just one year after he earned a 94.0 PFF overall grade and posted a 41-to-4 touchdown-to-interception ratio."
On the other side of the ball, McGuinness expects Minter to have a similar effect.
"Jesse Minter replacing John Harbaugh doesn't just give the Ravens a fresh perspective at the top; it should also boost a defense that has struggled in recent years — Minter ran a Chargers defense that ranked inside the NFL's top 10 in expected points added (EPA) allowed on defense in each of the past two seasons," McGuinness wrote. "Trey Hendrickson should also provide a significant boost to the pass rush. He has earned a PFF pass-rush grade above 90.0 in each of the past three seasons, something no Ravens edge defender has accomplished since Elvis Dumervil in 2013."
"Good Morning Football's" Manti Te'o also expressed confidence in Minter and Doyle to get the Ravens over the hump.
"I think these changes at the coaching positions does help the Ravens to get to the next level, and hopefully it happens this year," Te'o said.
The Athletic's Analytics Model Projects Ravens to Be AFC's Top Team
For those who put stock in analytics-based projections, there's another reason to be optimistic about the Ravens this year: The Athletic’s Austin Mock’s NFL Projection Model has Baltimore as the team to beat in the AFC.
The model projects the Ravens to lead the AFC in wins (10.9) and gives them a 73% chance of making the playoffs and a conference-best 7.4% chance of winning the Super Bowl.
"My model is counting on quarterback Lamar Jackson to bounce back from a down year, in which he never seemed to be fully healthy," Mock wrote. New coach Jesse Minter is taking over a defense that really struggled to create pressure, which led to a below-average defense (20th) in my adjusted EPA metric. Their biggest issue was coming in 27th in pressure rate without blitzing. If Minter's defensive scheme can boost that number — it'll help to have Trey Hendrickson in the fold — Jackson and this Ravens squad will be the team to beat in the division."
The Buffalo Bills have the second-highest win-projection (10.7), followed by the New England Patriots (10.3) and Cincinnati Bengals (10.3).
