At first glance, Derek Henry is a throwback, right? I mean, he's 250 pounds. He handles

nearly 400 carries a season. Even his general approach to training, his stated desire to get bigger and stronger, it sounds

like it's from a bygone era.

But calling Henry a throwback misunderstands the player, how he is uniquely suited to

dominate at this very time in football history

for reasons that go well beyond just the fact that he is a big back.

To understand Henry is to understand exactly how he's able to survive a workload that has simply destroyed running

backs in the past, both how he maintains his body and how a unique offensive scheme not only

relies on him, but in a way takes care of him.

It's to understand how, for example, in his 182 yard 3 touchdown performance and Sunday's

comeback went over Seattle, his impact goes so far beyond what you can read in a stat line.

And it's to understand how in an era when passing numbers are at an all-time high and running

back valuations are at an all-time low, Henry just might be the most indispensable

and most important non-quarterback in football.

Hi, I'm Gary Gramline, and I'm Connor Orr. And we're excited to welcome you to the first episode of our new midweek NFL show from Sports Illustrated and the MMQB podcast. Those of you who already subscribe to this feed are used to the breakdowns and

analysis Jenny Wrentiss, Connor and I provide on the Monday podcast.

In this space though, we're going to do things a little bit differently.

Sometimes it will be a thoughtful discussion of the week's biggest news topic.

Sometimes it will be a Q&A with a guest we find interesting.

Sometimes it will be original audio storytelling. sometimes we're going to dive a little bit deeper into the biggest stories we do at Sports Illustrated.

These shows will be unique.

And with that in mind, we're starting off with one of the most unique players in the NFL, Derek Henry.

...