Is picking Henry a sign Titans are too committed to 'exotic smashmouth'?
The Tennessee Titans are going to run the ball, then run it some more.
Head coach Mike Mularkey promised "exotic smashmouth" football earlier this offseason, and the Titans' draft strategy through two days proves he wasn't lying.
After trading up to select mauling offensive tackle Jack Conklin in the first round, the Titans struck the Heisman pose and added Alabama running back Derrick Henry with the 45th overall pick (their third of a league-high three second-round selections).
In Henry, the Titans get a physical specimen whose closest NFL comparison isn't a running back, but instead linebacker and reigning Super Bowl MVP Von Miller. Henry is both enormous in stature and enormously explosive. When he gets a head of steam, he's almost impossible to bring down.
He's also a player the Titans might not have a clear role for.
That's because the Titans added DeMarco Murray via trade with the Philadelphia Eagles earlier this offseason. At the time, the Titans presented Murray as a workhorse who can carry the load for the offense and take pressure off second-year passer Marcus Mariota.
If Murray is the workhorse, where does that leave Henry?
"We have two workhorse running backs now," general manager Jon Robinson said after the Henry pick.
Two workhorses. That's an oxymoron.
No one would argue a strong rushing attack is a boon to any team, but it's fair to question whether the Titans have put too many resources into one specific aspect of their offense at the expense of not filling holes elsewhere.
Murray excelled in 2014 as the Dallas Cowboys' bell cow back, handling an NFL-high 392 carries, then struggled mightily in a smaller role in the Eagles' committee approach last season.
Henry split carries early in his career with the Crimson Tide, then won the Heisman Trophy after totaling 395 rushing attempts as a junior - more than twice as many as the season prior.
The Titans aren't going to run the ball 800 times next season, so either Murray or Henry - or both - will have to play a much smaller role than he's used to.
Whether that leads to diminishing returns from either runner remains to be seen. The Titans seem to be betting you can't have too much of a good thing.