Dallas Cowboys: Would Derrick Henry be right choice?

Heisman Trophy winning running back Derrick Henry wants to be drafted by the Dallas Cowboys, but would he be the correct choice for a team that has needs greater than a running back on their 53-man roster?

Right now, it isn’t a certainty that Henry would be a first-round selection, but if he is, there is no way the Cowboys select him as the fourth overall selection if the draft were held today. Let’s say the Alabama national champion standout has a great combine and pro day … would the Cowboys somehow want to draft Henry in the first round?

Plus, the question is, would be the right choice for their offense?

As already stated in previous articles, the Cowboys really need to work on their defense (as that’s where I believe they need to look in Round 1), and if they keep adding pieces to that puzzle, that will make their offense better. If the draft decision were mine to make, the Cowboys shouldn’t take Henry in the first round, if they stay at fourth overall or trade down in the round.

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I’m still not sold on drafting a running back in the first round for the Cowboys (though it worked out for the Rams last year with Todd Gurley), as there are other options that can be made in the second, third and fourth rounds for “America’s Team” at that position.

Henry is a very talented football player as proven with his 36 carries for 158 yards and three touchdowns in the national championship game against the then-undefeated Clemson Tigers, averaging 4.4 yards per carry.

Henry rushed for over 100 yards in a game 10 times this past season, and four times he had over 200 yards rushing in those games, with his most yards in a game coming on Nov. 28 against the Auburn Tigers where he had 271 yards on the ground on 46 carries (5.9 yards per carry) in what is dubbed the “Iron Bowl.”

Three of those four 200-yard rushing games came in the month of November, and within those yards, he had six touchdowns on 116 carries. For the season, Henry had 2,219 yards on 395 carries (15 games) with 28 touchdowns.

Here are some career highlights of the Heisman Trophy winner so all can get more familiar with the level of football Henry plays at:

Even having great numbers while playing in the SEC, winning the Heisman and being a national champion running back, the question still remains: how will that all transform into a career in the NFL?

Being that Henry is 6-2, 242 pounds, he is built great physically to take the punishment of an NFL season, and he basically just completed nearly an NFL-type of schedule with 15 games this past year with the Crimson Tide.

Though playing in the SEC for a majority of his games, and even some tough non-conference games, the slate of games in the NFL will be even tougher for the standout running back, who currently is being projected as a late first-round to second-round draft selection, and with one that carried the football a lot during his three years at Alabama, he does have some “wear and tear” on his body.

Michael Casagrande of AL.com quoted Henry in a recent article about his current draft grade, which was a second-round grade by the NFL draft advisory board:

"“I feel like, just because I got my grade, it doesn’t mean I’m not going to be first round,” Henry said. “I feel like what I do and how I test at the combine and work out. I feel like I will be first round. There’s no doubt in my mind that I won’t be.”"

This draft process of Henry will be closely watched by many in the upcoming weeks, and it will be very exciting how much he can improve that second-round draft grade he received from the NFL’s draft advisory board.

Dec 31, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide running back Derrick Henry (2) runs with the ball against Michigan State Spartans linebacker Darien Harris (45) in the third quarter in the 2015 CFP semifinal at the Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports /

But in all honesty, how much does a draft grade really matter once a player enters the NFL?

It means more as to what their value is on the draft board, but if there is one team that knows about drafting players and them becoming a star in the league, and not being super high in the grading process, look no further than the current starting quarterback of the Cowboys, Tony Romo.

Remember, the Cowboys picked Romo up as an undrafted rookie free agent. How did that draft grade resemble the career Romo has carved out for himself?

Even with a running back like Arian Foster of the Houston Texans … he wasn’t drafted either, and when he was healthy, he was one of the top, if not the top running back in the entire league at one point.

I hate to be “that guy” and bring up past Alabama running backs in the NFL, but look at former first-round draft choice Trent Richardson in 2012. He was the third overall pick selected that year.

His NFL career hasn’t been much to write home about (he didn’t play this past season), so there might be some comparisons there with Henry as he did come from the same program as Richardson.

But again, there is also Mark Ingram, who was also a first0round selection (28th overall) in 2011, and he too came from that same collegiate program, so there is good and bad when having that particular outlook.

Ingram just finished a season where he had 769 yards an six touchdowns on 166 carries, but he and Henry have a different skill set, play the game differently and in physical comparisons, Ingram is 5-9, 215 pounds.

There will still be comparisons between the two backs to a certain degree as they’ve come from the same collegiate program.

What I love about Henry is that he’s a big back, and he could be a nice duo combo with Darren McFadden (who is the same type of back as Henry). In McFadden’s first year with the Cowboys, he carried the football 239 times for 1,089 yards and three touchdowns in 16 games, with this being his first 1,000-yard season since 2010 with the Oakland Raiders.

If the Cowboys can keep McFadden to around that many carries again next season, and add a back like Henry, that could spell success for the Cowboys’ offense in ’16, as they are the same type of runner to a degree.

Rob Rang of CBS Sports wrote on Jan. 11 of the Alabama running back, praising his style of play, and how it could work in the NFL:

"“Henry won’t be drafted based solely on a trophy and may struggle to duplicate his collegiate success in the NFL if not placed in the right system. His ability to get to and through the hole in a flash projects best in a traditional power-blocking scheme that limits his dancing at the line of scrimmage. This isn’t to say that he couldn’t be successful in a zone-blocking scheme, as he possesses vision and surprising agility.”"

Here is the thing about that last sentence on Henry … the Cowboys run a zone-running scheme.

If Henry wants to be drafted by the Cowboys, he might want to fall to the second round, because I just can’t see at this time the Cowboys drafting a running back in the first round, though stranger things have occurred on draft day.

More nfl spin zone: Is Christian Hackenberg the future at QB?

Henry is a very solid running back, just not enough to be interested in the early first round, but possibly in Round 2. Ask me again after some of his pre-draft workouts, and we can talk more about this scenario.

Are you in favor of the Cowboys selecting Henry in the first round if he were to gain a first-round grade or even as high as the second round?

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