Derrick Henry has 15 days until he kicks off the season with his new club when the Baltimore Ravens take on the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. Henry already feels confident next to Lamar Jackson.
"I'm comfortable now. I'm right at home," he said Tuesday, via the team's official transcript. "Training camp was good. We got a lot better; [we're] still getting better, but I'm comfortable and right at home."
The Ravens made Henry their signature offseason addition, believing that pairing the bruising running back with a dual-threat like Jackson would give defenses fits.
We haven't seen the back in the new offense during the preseason and are unlikely to this weekend in the exhibition finale. But Baltimore heads to Green Bay this week for joint practices with the Packers, where the offense will continue building ahead of Week 1.
"I'm definitely excited to play, and [I] can't wait until that time comes, but it's all about polishing and getting everything down and continuing to get better until that time comes," Henry said of the season opener. "I'm sure everybody out here is itching to get to Week 1 for sure."
The fit in Baltimore is interesting, given the Ravens' propensity to use the shotgun and pistol formations with Jackson, while most of Henry's work came with the QB under center in Tennessee. Last season, Henry took 185 carries in under-center plays, per Next Gen Stats. He had just 53 from shotgun and 42 from pistol (84.2 of Jackson's snaps came from shotgun or pistol last year). However, the bruiser was still efficient in those shotgun plays, averaging 4.9 YPC, per Next Gen Stats (3.8 YPC under center).
Henry isn't worried about those formations hindering his performance.
"Not at all. We ran pistol before [while I was with] Tennessee and ran out of shotgun," he said. "My biggest thing is doing my job and doing my job effectively [while] being efficient."
The Ravens are likely to continue leaning on shotgun, where Jackson is at his best, but could sprinkle in more full-back formations with Patrick Ricard in front of Henry. When Henry, Ricard and Jackson are on the field together, that's a combined 11 Pro Bowls in the backfield -- Henry and Ricard with four apiece, and Lamar with three.
"That's something I look forward to," Henry said. "Anytime 'four-two' [Ricard] is in front of me, I'm comfortable, so I'm good. I have to make something happen."
Come Thursday before joint practice in Green Bay, they would share their bike-riding tradition with Ravens players. Henry sounded like he'll participate, which should be a sight to behold.
"I haven't in a while, so I might be a little rusty," he said. "The kid might have to help stay balanced, but I should be fine. It seems like something fun they do for their community and the kids, so I have no problem doing it."
