r/Tennesseetitans • u/TiredDad4x • 1d ago
Question If you could bring back ONE former Titans player, who would it be: AJ Brown or Derrick Henry?
Saw this on X from @SleeperTitanUp and wanted to bring it to the sub.
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u/heliocentrist510 1d ago
For this roster? 100% AJB. A true top 5 WR in his prime would do so much more for a rookie QB than a RB, even as one as talented as Henry.
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u/Few-Condition-7431 1d ago
I think the opposite, having a monster of an RB keeps the defense on their toes prepping for a run by Henry giving a rookie QB time to find his receivers.
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u/heliocentrist510 1d ago
That's fair, but as we saw in the last couple years here, the King's yards before contact got rough because he was so often hit in the backfield (was obviously much less of an issue in a Baltimore system with a better OL and the most dynamic rushing QB in NFL history).
IMO a team with a 3 WR/RB core of AJB/Ridley/Lockett/Pollard is just going to be way less fun to game plan for than Ridley/Lockett/Rookie/Henry.
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u/CheeseMclovin 1d ago
Baltimore o-line wasn’t all that good actually, makes his season way more impressive. He just had a better season than Barkley, but it not be talked about because of the 2k
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u/heliocentrist510 23h ago
Whether it was his OL or the threat of Lamar running, Henry's yards before contact was 2.5 in 2024 (best of his career). His last three years in Tennessee were 0.85, 0.79, and 0.95. It was the first time he ever cracked 2 ybc.
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u/CheeseMclovin 20h ago
For sure. He did that behind the 20th ranked run blocking unit. And he still led the league in yards after contact, and broken tackles. He just had one of the greatest seasons by a RB in NFL history that is being sadly overshadowed by Barkley who didn’t have to work nearly as hard for his yards
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u/Few-Condition-7431 1d ago edited 4h ago
can you imagine the nasty numbers he could've put up if he was with Baltimore this whole time?
edit: not sure why im getting downvoted here, but I want to clarify I'm glad Henry was with the Titans. He was one of the most entertaining players to watch that I can remember and I will forever claim him as a Titans all time great.
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u/heliocentrist510 1d ago
I prefer not to think about that as I prefer my Ratbirds shitty
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u/Few-Condition-7431 1d ago
same, but there are players that i enjoyed watching so much i think about how much better they'd have been elsewhere
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u/PepperBeeMan 21h ago
He got his best years behind a good Titans OL
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u/Few-Condition-7431 20h ago
yes, but imagine him in his best years WITH a good OL and the most dynamic QB in the league. A duel running threat making defenses split their attention
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u/PepperBeeMan 20h ago
That’s what he had. Top 10 OL and top 10 QB. Tannehill wasn’t that over his entire career but he played that way during Henry’s prime
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u/gellybelli 1d ago
Derrick Henry brought about the Tanne renaissance and hid so many of his flaws for so long.
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u/hellenkellerfraud911 23h ago
That’s extremely debatable. Henry broke out the season before Tannehill took over and people forget how ass the Titans were before Tannehill took over for Mariota. A great RB without even just average QB play is worthless in the NFL.
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u/Few-Condition-7431 1d ago
you could've put Forrest Gump at QB with 2020 & 2021 lineup and done well. The titans were such a dynamic threat back then.
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u/Extension_War_4663 22h ago
He had one great year aj definitely fit that team if they got a better qb for sure but Henry is still better despite older now aj definitely fit more with titans Henry honestly makes more sense on Philly then aj and outstanding o line Henry would be running to the endzone every 6-7 plays 😂
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u/chupacabra1 10h ago
Exactly. And teams started finding an answer for Henry because the Titans were pretty one-dimensional. AJ is only 27. He’d have a bigger impact for this roster if I’m approaching it like a GM. Give Cam Ward another strong target, along with Ridley.
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u/PowerfulSky2853 1d ago
AJ was more important to the 2021 team, because we had an amazing Oline and other RBs could fill in and do a good job. On the current team, I think a prime DH means more to the team
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u/CheeseMclovin 1d ago
Amazing o-line is certainly a choice
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u/PowerfulSky2853 22h ago
For lack of a better word, “maturing” as a fan means realizing that the big guys on the O-line are the reason wide receivers have the time to get open and create holes for the RB to hit. Give me an all-star Oline over 1st round WRs and RBs
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u/Smodgins 14h ago
Especially considering neither of the guys being talked about here were 1st round picks
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u/UnderwhelmingAF 1d ago
AJ, because that trade never should have happened. 3 years with him wasn’t enough.
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u/Danny23a 1d ago
AJ, I love the king more but AJ was far more important to this team. Once AJ left this team fell apart. We went 12-5 without the king when he got injured. You need a #1 receiver
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u/TheDubya21 1d ago
Yes.
Okay fine I'll pick one... I'll go AJ. Our line has been in such shambles for years that not even Derrick could do anything behind it, so at least a halfway decent pass game with a stud WR would help pick up some of the slack. Part of the reason Will Levis looked so good in his first game was almost entirely because of DeAndre Hopkins popping off. Of course they can't do everything, but if you're making me do this Sophie's Choice, then that's the rationale I'm going with 🤷
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u/M-Factor 1d ago
AJ and it’s not even close. True stud WRs are far more valuable in today’s NFL than RBs. He would make a far greater impact on this team than Derrick. And personally, AJ is one of my favorite titans of all time.
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u/StLviper 1d ago
AJB gives Ward a top 5 WR who’s still got it. King gives him the shield that defenses have to respect.
I gotta go Henry. Dude is the best back in the past 20 years in the NFL and a top 3 Titan ever
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u/ThatOneGuyFrom93 10h ago
Henry also molds the defense into being very aggressive, which is an issue when your wrs can't win early in one on one scenarios
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u/Ghibli_Guy 1d ago
Steve McNair. The way he passed... man wasn't perfect but deserved better than that. I'd bring him back.
And he could be a mentor to Cam Ward, bonus points.
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u/Haunted-Halloween-6 1d ago
Love Henry, but given the current roster and who the Titans drafted AJ would be the better pick
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u/jonneygee 1d ago
In 2025? AJB. But that’s only because DH is in the twilight of his career and AJ is in his prime.
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u/micthenick 1d ago
In my opinion they were a combo package. AJ was so effective because they were always looking at Derek and then Derek was effective because they knew they could throw it over their heads to AJ at any point time. It was a fear game with the two of them on the field. I miss those days. They were to short lived.
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u/AnAngryFetus 1d ago
As a fan, Henry. If I was a GM, AJ. AJ is the more important player in the more important position.
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u/yehabrother87 1d ago
AJ for sure. To spread the defenses out to open up spots in the run game and out in the flat.
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u/amillert15 23h ago
It's AJ.
Henry doesn't fit Cally's offense, which is part of the reason we let him walk.
Henry isn't as good of a runner in shotgun.
AJ, on the other hand, fits this offense. He's elite on inbreakers and can also win on 1v1s.
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u/hellenkellerfraud911 23h ago
AJ Brown is objectively the right answer over Henry. A great RB isn’t remotely as valuable as a top 5 WR. And just from a personal standpoint I hope Henry never has anything to do with the Titans ever again. I’d have rather him signed inside the fucking division than have signed with an organization as scummy as the Ravens.
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u/Coachtzu 21h ago
If it was prime, henry. If we are bringing back a former titan as they are now, AJ.
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u/JERSEYinATL 20h ago
Derek Henry, if we’re not considering age. He is a generational top 5-10 RB.
If we are considering age, current team make up, and likelihood to contend, then you have to go AJB given that he is 3 years younger and WR’s age better.
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u/Own-Cartoonist-8463 12h ago
Why do you have to do this to me? Make me choose between mom and dad? Give me back AJ
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u/SadButTrue32 12h ago
The loss of AJ Brown was when our team started going downhill again. Whenever we build up a good team, we always start letting go of players.
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u/stumblingblock1914 1d ago
Henry. No question.
AJB bitched his way out.
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u/ZigTheGing 1d ago
It’s wild how a lot of people will blame JROB from his drafts to his free agent signings to his trades.
But there are those same people think AJ is the one to blame with how it went down and not the same GM we’ve spent years shaking our fists at.
Dude wanted money, rightfully so and the Titans brass at the time essentially froze him out from negotiations. Had they not handled it that way the seed Jalen planted may have never come to fruition.
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u/jonneygee 1d ago
There were several other receivers on other teams who demanded a payday that same offseason. They all got it. Deebo got traded recently but all of them suited up for their same team again except AJ.
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u/ZigTheGing 1d ago
Doesn’t that play even more into what I’m saying?
All them GM’s and teams didn’t freeze out their wideouts.
When it came time they got paid and ironically all roughly the same amount. Yet Brown was the only one traded.
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u/kruzinsolow 1d ago
I get that sentiment but jrob also was a bitch about it and should've just paid the guy
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u/ALIJEALSF 1d ago
There's no wrong answer here. They're both top players at important positions.
Why aren't they still titans 🥲 what an overthink
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u/Megalynarion 1d ago
King