BEREA — The question was dismissed by Browns safety Grant Delpit with two words.
Delpit was asked how hard it is to bring down Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry. The never-bashful, always-confident safety quickly responded, “Not hard.”
There would be a whole lot of people around the NFL who would strongly disagree with that statement. There’s been no running back over the last decade who has caused more headaches — sometimes literally — for opposing defenses than Henry, whose 11,592 yards is No. 1 by miles among active running backs.
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It didn’t take long for Delpit’s words to get back to Henry as the two teams prepare for their game Sunday in Baltimore.
“Yeah, I saw that,” Henry told Baltimore reporters hours after Delpit’s comment. “His coach had a quote. He had a quote. We’ll see on Sunday.”
Browns coach Kevin Stefanski was asked about the Browns’ success in past years — most of those games while he was still with the Tennessee Titans — against Henry on Sept. 10. Over seven career games against Cleveland, five of those while he was with the Tennessee Titans, he’s averaged 56.4 yards on 13 carries.
Most of those games were before Henry joined forces in 2024 with Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson to form the most potent rushing attack in the NFL. Baltimore led the league in rushing yards per game that season at 187.6, with Henry’s 1,921 yards finishing second to Philadelphia Eagles star Saquon Barkley’s 2,005.
“Great player,” Stefanski said. “I mean, everybody saw it the other night. He’s a rare combination of size, speed, power, you name it. So again, somebody that we have a tremendous amount of respect for.”
Henry’s two games against Cleveland last season were a contrast of sort. Cleveland “limited” him to 73 yards on 11 carries — still a 6.6 average per carry — in a Week 8 Browns win, while he ran for 138 yards and two scores on 20 carries in the regular-season finale.
Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz spent two years as a senior defensive assistant while Henry was still with the Titans in 2021-22. He’s seen first hand from multiple perspectives what may be the key to slowing the running back down.
“Here’s the thing, we need to be physical on our defensive line and at our linebacker level, because you have an extremely strong, extremely big running back that can go north-south,” Schwartz said. “And look what happened to Buffalo a few times with just giving up those north-south lanes, and you give that guy a head of steam it’s tough on your defense. So, if we’re doing a good job playing physical up front, we’re getting some penetration, we’re not giving him those downhill runs where he gets his foot in the ground, doesn’t have to change course, that’ll go a long way to stopping the run game.”
Henry had 70 yards after contact, while forcing two missed tackles, in the Week 8 game. The finale saw him force eight missed tackles while gaining 83 yards after contact.
To which Delpit might say, the answer to the question is easy. The execution of said answer is where Henry typically gains the upper hand, or, as Mike Tyson once said, everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.
“We playing football, man,” Delpit said. “It’s tackle football. Somebody got the ball, you got to bring him down.”
The Buffalo Bills had a similar plan for Henry when they faced him in the season opener. Then the 6-foot-3, 252-pound running back punched them in the face with 169 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries.
The worst news for the Browns may not have been Henry’s rushing totals. It may have been the fumble with 3:06 remaining and Baltimore leading by eight, which opened the door for the Bills to rally for a 41-40 win.
“Yeah, it is just another big challenge,” linebacker Jerome Baker, who faced Henry while with the Miami Dolphins prior to signing with Cleveland this offseason, told the Beacon Journal. “He’s one of those backs anybody can slow him down the first half, and that second half he can just turn it on and give you real problem. So it’s one of those things and mentality, you got to bring it every single play, every single down, and just really lock in on what you need to do.”
Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: ‘Not hard’ to tackle Ravens’ Derrick Henry? So says Browns safety Grant Delpit
Reporting by Chris Easterling, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
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