Adrian Peterson Believes Henry Can Play at High Level for ‘Several More Years’
Former running back great Adrian Peterson doesn’t expect to see Father Time get the better of Henry any time soon.
“He’s obviously gifted,” Peterson told RG’s Kyle Odegard. “He’s gifted with size, good speed, agility. To be that big and to move the way he moves, it’s been impressive to see him do that, and continue to do it here at 32 years old. I feel like if he can keep his head in it, keep God first, and keep putting work in, shoot, he can do it for several more years at that level.”
Peterson knows about longevity and remaining productive into his 30s. In the 15-year veteran’s age-33 season with Washington in 2018, he rushed for 1,042 yards.
Peterson is sixth on the all-time rushing list with 14,918 yards. It’s likely that Henry, who is 10th on the list with 13,018 yards, will eventually pass him.
“Man, it’s impressive to see him continue to play at such a high level,” Peterson said. “He’s such a big back. He does an amazing job of taking care of his body. To me, I know that’s what it takes. It’s taking care of your body and putting the work in. If you’ve got a great supporting cast around you on the field, at the running back position you can really do some incredible things.”
ESPN analyst Louis Riddick said any suggestion that Henry showed signs of slowing down last season is off base.
“Derrick is a freak. He really is,” Riddick said on “Get Up.” “His yards after contact per rush [last season], he was like fourth in the league. His yards per rush before contact, he was middle of the pack, which tells you offensive line play wasn’t as good as it typically has been. And they tried to address that this year. They drafted Vega Ioane out of Penn State in the first round, securing the interior of the offensive line. His number of explosive, 10-plus-yard runs, he was top four in the league. So he still has game-breaking ability.”