Derrick Henry already made a splash with his first Baltimore Ravens touchdown, and he has high hopes for a big team season. But Henry’s fantasy owners won’t love Ravens coach John Harbaugh’s plan for his usage.

Harbaugh said Ravens prefer more of a team committee approach, according to a post on X by Sarah Ellison of @RavensVault.

“We didn’t bring Derrick (Henry) to be the guy that gets the ball 30 times a game,” Harbaugh said. “He’s done that before. That’s really not the plan. We rushed for 185 yards overall, and a lot of that is (quarterback) Lamar (Jackson), but that’s the formula. The formula is all the guys together — it’s not just the one guy.”

Ravens RB Derrick Henry might not get big carries in 2024

Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry (22) scores a touchdown as Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Leo Chenal (54) attempts the tackle during the first half at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.
Denny Medley-Imagn Images

Harbaugh said he wants everybody to be involved in the offensive attack.

“The plan is Derrick, Lamar, Mark (Andrews), Isaiah (Likely), Zay (Flowers), Bate (Rashod Bateman), Nelly (Nelson Agholor),” Harbaugh said. “That’s the plan in this offense going forward.”

Harbaugh said there will be big games for Henry, but not every week.

“So I think that evaluation (of the run game) will be best made over the course of the season,” Harbaugh said. “And I’m very confident there’s going to be games where Derrick is going to go for 100-plus, or more. And you’re going to be asking me why Zay only got two catches.”

All of that probably sounds good for the Ravens in the regular season, but fantasy owners will absolutely hate it. The key question for the Ravens will be if they make the playoffs. Will one of those players step up in the clutch? Or will they wait for someone else to do it? Generally the playoffs are a place where star players shine. But if the Ravens spread it out so much they don’t have star players, will that approach work in the postseason?

Did the ground game work in the 2023 playoffs?

Harbaugh still fields criticism for the Ravens giving their running backs only six carries in last season’s AFC Championship game against the Chiefs. The rematch on Thursday wasn’t greatly different. Henry carried 13 times, including five on Baltimore’s opening drive and just five in the second half. Henry finished with 46 yards and a touchdown. Justice Hill received the only other carry by a Ravens’ running back.

Harbaugh said Henry looked good in his first Ravens outing, according to baltimoreravens.com.

“I like the way the run game looked for the most part with just the running back run game,” Harbaugh said. “There were some plays I’d like to see blocked a little better, but other plays that were blocked really well.”