Should Henderson Be Our #1 Back?

[Hyped]

Kid needs some serious work on blitz pick ups!!!

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

I was worried that your post wouldn't have a nice jab to it but then you cleaned it up nicely with the last sentence. Well done, as always!

And I'm not really being sarcastic. I like the schtick.

I don't think it is a schtick. I think it is real.

 

[Patjew]

I don't think it is a schtick. I think it is real.

Even better?

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

Even better?

Yup. Even better. Agreed.

 

[BillyD90123]

Henderson is clearly (at least to me) our best back. And I think that he can handle at least as many snaps as Stevenson.

Vrabel has decided that we have two top backs and they will be in a rotation of some sort. Gibbs is an afterthought and an emergency backup. So be it,
==========
On Sunday, Stevenson was in on 65% of the reps, with Henderson on 35%. I think that the ratios should be reversed. I think that having Henderson on the field on first down would open up the Offense.

Today, 9/20/25, Stevenson is your starting back. And rightfully so.

 

[stinkypete]

Kid needs some serious work on blitz pick ups!!!

Rookie 3rd down backs rarely see playing time here because of this. Shane Vareen collected dust for most of two years.

Blitz pickup in the pros takes time, especially for a smaller RB like Henderson. Rushing him into too big a role and letting Drake get pummeled is counterproductive to Henderson’s development.

We are stuck with Stevenson for now. He is thoroughly replaceable, but not at this juncture of the season.

 

[Salsalife]

Henderson displayed excellent ball security throughout his four years at Ohio State, never losing a fumble! I'm totally confident with Henderson carries. He will deliver the mail.

 

[p8ryts]

Henderson displayed excellent ball security throughout his four years at Ohio State, never losing a fumble! I'm totally confident with Henderson carries. He will deliver the mail.

Thanks, now you have definitely jinxed him.

 

[Hyped]

Rookie 3rd down backs rarely see playing time here because of this. Shane Vareen collected dust for most of two years.

Blitz pickup in the pros takes time, especially for a smaller RB like Henderson. Rushing him into too big a role and letting Drake get pummeled is counterproductive to Henderson’s development.

We are stuck with Stevenson for now. He is thoroughly replaceable, but not at this juncture of the season.

Agree..except for the part about Rham being replaceable. He’s pretty good aside from his fumbling issues…remember us all getting on Faulk’s arse about him fumbling….in the early days at least.

 

[TheRainMaker]

Rookie 3rd down backs rarely see playing time here because of this. Shane Vareen collected dust for most of two years.

It was mostly because there were capable guys ahead of them on the depth chart at that time. Vareen didn't play much because Danny Woodhead was the main guy. James White sat behind Vareen and later Dion Lewis when he was signed.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

Not sure who will truly be rb1 but right now i think Gibson should get more carries to see if that boosts our run game. He has had the higher ypc over rham (4.5 vs 4.0 last year and so far this year) and Henderson this year (3.4). Let Gibson carry around 13x per game with rham and Henderson getting around 5 each. Rham and Henderson split most of the passing downs with gibson getting some looks, slowly increasing Henderson’s carries if he starts having more success on the ground.

Ideally id like to see Henderson get the majority of touches but right now the run game seems to be working best with Gibson.

 

[JoeSixPat]

Even given the Stevenson fumbles and Henderson blocking/penalty issues there's a LOT more that goes into determining an RB on any given play than just "who has the best stats" - although we can all wish the stats were higher and turnovers lower.

McDaniels has 4 RBs on the roster and short of a mid season trade he knows that one can't just swap in a 5'10" 200 lb RB for a 6 foot 230 RB, who would be more attuned to a 1st and 10 run blocking up the middle type player

If anything Gibson is the RB you'd look at as a similar RB to Stevenson

But how many times do we need to run each game for a balanced attack in the first place? 25?

I'd definitely say Josh should look to spread the touches at RB around all four of his main running threats - that of course includes plays specifically designed for Drake Maye to run a few times a game.

Drake Maye is technically our best RB and while the case can be made he should be starting, it's probably best we keep him in his current position.

So accepting that every play is situational, let's look at this pretty simply as a using each actual RB for 6 -8 carries a game, and maybe have 5 running plays for Drake Maye planned as not only is he good for @ 7 yards a carry, it keeps the Ds that much more honest.

That's really not that far from what it has been - and of course situational football will also require adjustments given the D we are going up against - but I expect we'll see Josh just using what he has, including Drake Maye as RB in some planned runs