Limiting ‘King Henry’ a group effort for Raiders defense

It’s going to take more than one player to neutralize Derrick Henry.

The All-Pro running back has been a wrecking ball into defenses since his arrival into the NFL, largely in part to the incredible combination of size and speed he provides. The 6-foot-3, 247-pounder looks more the part of the defensive end or linebacker, and he’s relentless with his running style. He’s had double digit rushing touchdowns the previous four seasons and averaged over 100 yards a game his last three seasons.

“I’ve admired from afar because as a defensive coach, there’s not too many things we like about offense, but when you see a guy that could run the ball and the way he runs the ball and the physicality, I wish he would have switched over to defensive end or linebacker at some point,” Defensive Coordinator Patrick Graham said. “I’m excited about the challenge. You hear so much about him throughout the league and over the years and really haven’t had a chance to face him.”

Even with how dominant Henry is, the Raiders defense has done a fairly good job of stopping the run their first two games of the season. The Raiders have had the challenge of going up against Pro Bowl running backs James Conner and Austin Ekeler, holding both of them to 25 and 36 rushing yards, respectively.

“Tackling is going to be a tough deal,” Graham continued about Henry. “I mean, this is a big man. Like I said, I only saw him one time live and in person. He is a big man. There’s not there’s not a lot of people on the planet that look like him. … So you got to be ready to tackle them for four quarters and understand it’s not going to be a one-man show. It’s going to be a whole bunch of guys that got to get to him.”