I listened to Cosells
podcast where he goes into some detail about Derrick Henry.
What he talks about is similar to what he wrote in an article linled on page eight.
This podcast clairiffys for me that he does consider Henry to be a foundation RB but with a caveat that the team has to be dedicated to giving him the ball 20 times a game because he doesn't think Henry will as effective in a time share situation. That he needs a lot of carries to get going, or to break one. That he will have a lot of dead plays, so needs more volume to be successful.
He also says a lot of the runs at the college level are outside, while in the NFL the tendency is to run more inside.
Is that a description of a foundation RB? A guy who needs volume to be successful? Wouldn't most RB be successful if given volume?
At the start of the podcast Cosell says that RB need certain traits to be successful in the NFL. They need to be able to run inside and pick their way through traffic. Does Cosell describe Henry as a player who can consistently do this? I do not think he does.
He says RB need to be agile, they need to be able to pick their way through traffic and create difficult angles. This is a requirement for running between the tackles where there will be many defenders to avoid in order to make successful runs. Does this fit Cosells description of Henry? I do not think it does.
He says that RB need to be tough and to get some yards after contact. I think Cosells description of Henry fits this category.
He says RB have to be able to get through small cracks. Does this fit his description of Henry? I am not sure really but I don't think it does.
He has also said that size is a attribute or similar to an ability or skill. So that would likely be in Henrys favor, but in his description it doesn't seem like it is. In fact it might even be a draw back because he is so tall.
So based on his own categories of what it means to be a foundation RB. He says Henry is that. But in evaluating his description of Henry I find it only meets his criteria in the areas of size (maybe) and toughness.
This inconsistency becomes even more glaring when one considers that he has Prosise as being a foundation RB. I have not heard his description of his play style but I would say his weakness are in areas that Cosell describes as critical to being a successful NFL RB. This makes me wonder even more than it does Henry as I do not see Prosise as particularly agile or nifty in the hole and he doesn't have the pile moving potential of Henry. So what ability besides size does he offer to be considered a foundation RB by Cosell's own criteria remains a mystery.