The Kansas City Chiefs were primed to select Tennessee Titans star running back Derrick Henry with the 59th overall pick in the 2016 NFL draft.
"The Chiefs told me they were gonna pick me when they had their pick," Henry told The Athletic's Joe Rexrode in an article published Friday about the Titans legend's career in Tennessee.
Tennessee ultimately took the Heisman Trophy winner at No. 45 overall. The Chiefs traded their pick to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who moved up to select kicker Roberto Aguayo.
Henry's Titans career could very well be winding down. The impending free agent has one regular season game left—a home matchup versus the Jacksonville Jaguars—before his contract expires.
If this is it, then what a Titans career it's been for Henry, who has amassed 10,807 total yards and 92 touchdowns during his career. Henry led the NFL in both rushing yards and touchdowns during the 2019 and 2020 seasons, including 2,027 yards in the latter campaign. Henry earned Associated Press Offensive Player of the Year honors for his efforts.
The four-time Pro Bowler brought it in the playoffs as well, perhaps most notably in 2019, when he finished 446 rushing yards and two scores in three games.
The 9-7 Titans upset Tom Brady and the New England Patriots before taking down MVP Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens that year. Tennessee's playoff run ended in the AFC Championship Game to Patrick Mahomes and the eventual Super Bowl Champion Chiefs.
Mahomes, a two-time NFL MVP and two-time Super Bowl champion, joined the Chiefs one year after Henry entered the league. Kansas City traded up from No. 27 to No. 10 that year with the Buffalo Bills to land the ex-Texas Tech star.
It's certainly conceivable that the Chiefs could have had a Mahomes-Henry backfield for years if the Alabama product fell to them. Instead, Tennessee found a superstar and franchise cornerstone.
