Who was more of a physical freak of nature..Henry or Julio?

Probably Henry. There have been players like Megatron, Fitz, Moss, etc. similar to Julio on the freak scale. Henry is pretty unique in football history. The closest comparison is probably Eric Dickerson, who played at like 225 pounds whereas Henry probably goes about 245-250 these days.

Henry far and away. Dude is a long strider as a big back which makes his running style pretty interesting. Shannon Sharpe noted that up close 6’ 2-6’ 3” isn’t really accurate. He’s more along the lines of about 6’ 4” 260.

The fact I’ve seen him outrun cornerbacks that surely run in the 4.3s and toss around the more physical 210 pound corners like they were wet paper bags is astounding. He's fundamentally a scat back but he plays so long in the game that it makes him seem like a power back cause all the bruising happens when everyone is tired of tackling or tries to get him up high. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Henry straight up bulldoze someone. It’s always either:

1. Fall forward
2. Stiff arm
3. Outrun them in the open field.

He might at the goal line but it’s just pushing. Not straight up squashing a dude.

Give me Derrick. He is a complete anomaly in the age of analytics

Article about Derrick Henry vs. Analytics

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A good running game requires less thinking. Keep handing the ball off to your running back, snug and secure, for about 10 minutes of game time, and if everything goes well, you’ll have a nice six-point touchdown. No fuss and no muss. Who doesn’t want that?

Except football at the NFL level typically doesn’t work like that anymore. Bellcow running backs are becoming increasingly rare, and those who show promise often can’t maintain it for long.

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Henry is different than a lot of running backs, mind you. To start, there is his sheer size. At a listed 6’3, 247 pounds, he is the biggest running back in the league. The reason why so few backs have that frame is that it isn’t typically conducive to the acceleration, speed, and elusiveness needed to play the position. And yet, Henry is explosive, he can outrun defensive backs, and he finds and slips through tight gaps despite looking like a defensive end.

To that last point, Henry’s power and surprising nimbleness are reflected in the fact that when defenses try to load up to stop him, he just bowls them over anyway. He finished the regular season with more yards after contact (973) than anyone, and was third with 29 broken tackles. He’s even more effective against eight-man boxes than he is against seven-man boxes, according to ESPN’s Matt Bowen.

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Everything that the Titans do works off of Henry. The play fakes, screens, rubs, and QB keeps are only so effective because their mondo-back demands that you over commit to him. And though contemporary philosophy has evolved towards spreading the field to run, the Titans have done the opposite to spring Henry, tightening their formations and adding heft to force undersized defenses to be gap sound. When Henry breaks through an encroaching defense’s first line, he’s frequently gone.

Watch as Ravens linebackers get sucked towards the line of scrimmage, only for Henry to blow right by them.

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Derrick Henry is not as much of a trendsetter as he is a trend-fighter. What he is doing should not be happening because someone that big and strong should not also be the greatest big play runningback in the sport. Not only does he have touchdown runs of 53, 54, 68, 72, 74, 75, 94, and 99 yards, he frequently leads the league in yards after contact per carry. Over the past 2 years, he had more rushing yards after contact than anyone else has rushing yards period. All in an era where bellcow runningbacks are not supposed to work. Just an absolute monster

Henry is a fricking animal

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Henry is a fricking animal

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He and Metcalf are the better comparisons for physical freaks for size, speed, strength at their positions.

Julio is a beast in his own right though. 32 yrs old and going on a decade in the league, injuries and all, he is still one of the most dominant players out there.

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What did that boy eat growing up?

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Anything he wanted, including a lot of school lunches that weren't made for him

Would've loved to have seen Julio featured in an offense, not just a role player in a run heavy WCO. Wouldn't change the results, but dang Julio was wasted in McElwain's offense.

Got this generational talent throwing blocks and running screens after seeing all these clips and highlights of him Moss'ing people in practice. Come on man

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It was a different era in offensive philosophy. Had he played in the Kiffin OC years or after, he may very well have secured every receiving record in CFB history

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Julio is amazing, but let's settle down here. He was an absolute physical freak but we've had 2 receivers who were just as good or better, they just got to the production in a different way, without overwhelming physicality. Both of them were heisman finalist and one of them won the dang thing. And neither one of them broke even one single season or career FBS record.

Henry have s strange.
He doesn’t really play like his size says.

He was probably the worst short yardage back of the Saban era, but he could outrun DBs.

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Him spinning Earl Thomas around like a puppet in open field and turning him into his blocker was one of the coolest things I've ever seen in football.

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He does stuff like that all the time. Check out the King Henry stiff-arm highlights:

LINK