Why Darrell Henderson is ready to shoulder the burden in the Los Angeles Rams backfield
Darrell Henderson is ready to carry the burden in the Rams' backfield. After an injury ruled out exciting youngster Cam Akers, the onus fell on Henderson to lead the running attack in Los Angeles.
Henderson enjoyed the feature back role in the Rams' offense in their win against the Chicago Bears. His 16 carries helped him rush for 70 yards and a touchdown. Henderson played 94% of the offensive snaps on Sunday night. Usually, head coach Sean McVay likes to operate with a selection of running backs. The coach explained the reasoning behind Henderson's extensive involvement.
"I thought he did a great job. I thought he got stronger as the game went on." McVay elaborated and named Henderson the starting back for their Week 2 clash against the Colts.
"I have confidence in Sony (Michel), but the way that Darrell (Henderson) was running — the flow of the game like we talked about — Darrell's definitely established himself as our starting back."
Darrell Henderson from the half-yard line 🙌 @DarrellH8 #RamsHouse
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The Rams don't need Henderson to become Alvin Kamara. With Mathew Stafford under center, the team will rely heavily on the pass. Sean McVay's core schematic principle, though, is to create an illusion around the running game.
McVay often looks to make teams think they are going to run the ball. This allows his offensive playbook to grow as he can call a number of different plays to keep the defense off-balance. An added benefit of this philosophy is that McVay can coat the pre-snap work with so much sugar.
A tight end might motion in from the slot to the strong side on the offensive line. The defense may think he's calling to a run play due to the tight end in motion. All of that can only happen with a working running game. If a team believes the running back is no threat, they won't bite on the motion.
Darrell Henderson's resurgence
Henderson came to the fore in 2020 as a rotational piece in the backfield. His DYAR number of 185, per Football Outsiders, was comfortably the best amongst the Rams' running backs. Moreover, Henderson's style makes him a threat and defenses have to counteract it.
He is a gritty, north-south runner who excels on inside zone runs, specifically when attacking the B gap. His strong legs and slashing style of running allow him to power through holes in the tackle box. That's precisely why Henderson finished in the top 16 running backs, which saw the highest percentage of stacked boxes per Next Gen Stats.
Per next gen stats #Rams RB Darrell Henderson saw 8 defenders in the box just 25% of the time compared to the largest percentage Ezekiel Elliott at 54.55% and the lowest with Antonio Gibson facing an 8-man box just 5% of the time.
On Sunday, the Bears filled the tackle box a large percentage of the time. Sean McVay's eyes light up when he sees the defense sell out for the run. It leaves the Rams' skilled receivers with fewer defenders to beat in the backfield. Now that the Rams have a superstar quarterback, it is the matchup advantage they want.
Henderson's mere presence as a battling power-back forces defenses to tighten their formations and honor the run. Henderson only needs to grind yards out in short-yardage situations and break off the odd long run for the Rams.
Darrell Henderson is more than capable of putting the backfield on his back. They don't expect him to be Derrick Henry, nor do they need him to. All Henderson needs to do is ruffle enough feathers to create the illusion that the Rams could run the ball on every down. If he does that, the Rams' offense becomes much more potent and unpredictable. He's the perfect man for the job.