Will the two stars live up tp the swelling hype and become the Shaq and Kobe of the NFL for the foreseeable future?
Most fans outside of Tennessee and the majority of media pundits believe the Baltimore Ravens and veteran running back Derrick Henry are a match made in heaven. After all, he fits mold of everything they’ve historically been about and strive for on offense and looks great sporting purple and black.
However, opposing defenses likely don’t share those same sentiments and probably deem the long-awaited unfair. It means they’ll be facing the most dangerous rushing tandem in the league now that the four-time Pro Bowler with plenty left in the tank is paired with reigning league MVP-winning quarterback Lamar Jackson who is in his prime and still ascending.
On Tuesday, Good Morning Football host and analyst, Akbar Gbajabiamila, compared the new dynamic duo to one of the greatest in the history of sports involving a pair of legendary basketball icons.
Are @Lj_era8 and @KingHenry_2 the Kobe and Shaq of the NFL right now? @Akbar_Gbaja thinks so @gmfb pic.twitter.com/gL9FZoMgfU
— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) July 30, 2024
“What they’ve done in this offseason by picking up Derrick Henry is equivalent to when the Los Angeles Lakers brought in Shaquille O’Neal to help put Kobe Bryant.”
Gbajabiamila believes that Henry isn’t just the Shaq to Jackson’s Kobe but the Shaq of the entire NFL with the sheer size he possesses and intense physicality he plays with as a ball carrier and occasional pass catcher out of the backfield.
“This dude is a monster,” Gbajabiamila said. When you give him the ball [and] if he is averaging five yards per carry, he is going out and running like 2020 Derrick Henry… As a defensive player, ain’t nobody got time for that. Ain’t nobody trying to see that type of nonsense.”
A backfield led and highlighted by Jackson and Henry–the two best ball carriers of their generation–is a “nastiness [that] nobody is prepared for.” The NBA wasn’t ready for the lethal combination O’Neil and the late Bryant would become as they would snap a 12-year championship drought by establishing a dynasty at the turn of the century when they won three straight titles from 2000-2002.
As was the case when Shaq joined forces with Kobe out West after spending the first four years and making a name for himself with the Orlando Magic, Henry is viewed as the missing piece that could finally tip the scales in the Ravens’ favor when it matters most in the postseason. After he signed many pundits revisited the disparity in the run-to-pass ratio of the Ravens offense from last season’s AFC championship loss and insisted even if the lack of balance was due to Jackson checking into a pass play pre-snap after getting a certain look from the defense, he would be more inclined to still give Henry the ball no matter how stack the box looked.
Pairing a two-time league rushing champion with a two-time league MVP who is the most electrifyingly dynamic dual-threat quarterback in the league will take pressure off of and pressure away from both players. They are each accustomed to putting their offenses solely on their back at times in their respective career to date but that won’t be the case in Baltimore as long as they stay healthy.
Behind what many believe to have been the worst offensive line in the league in his final season with the Titans, Henry still finished second in the league in rushing and scored double-digit touchdowns for the sixth year in a row. If the Ravens can even just get one Super Bowl out of the time their two offensive superstars and potential future Hall of Famers will be playing together, it will have been an excellent well worth investment.