Watch Derrick Henry run a 4.54 40 at NFL Scouting Combine (Video)

Derrick Henry runs a respectable 4.54 40-yard dash at the 2016 NFL Scouting Combine. Not all that bad for the 247-pound, Heisman Trophy-winning tailback.

2015 Heisman Trophy-winning running back of the Alabama Crimson Tide Derrick Henry ran his 40-yard dash at the 2016 NFL Scouting Combine Friday afternoon at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana.

While Henry didn’t run a 4.4 40 (4.54), for a guy that measured out at 6’3″, 247 pounds, this is actually very impressive for the big-bodied running back formerly of the Crimson Tide. As an NFL running back, Henry projects more as a north-to-south runner than he does with the shiftiness and the elusiveness of an all-purpose scat back.

At Alabama, Henry was the bell-cow back head coach Nick Saban relied on to wear down the opposition’s front seven with a physical ground-and-pound rushing attack. While he undoubtedly deserved the Heisman Trophy and was the star player for the Tide in 2015, it remains to be seen how Henry’s physical rushing style translates to the National Football League.

He’ll probably slip no further than the mid-second round (if that) in the 2016 NFL Draft. If a team that plays outdoors in a northern climate needs help moving the chains with the ground game, Henry is a logical choice to bring more balance to a pass-first offense.

What his 4.54 40-yard dash essentially means is that while Henry doesn’t have the blazing speed of say a Keith Marshall, formerly of the Georgia Bulldogs, he does have the top-end speed to charge down the football field once he gets past the second level of opposing defenses.

With his massive build and relentless motor at tailback, Henry seems like a good to potentially great member of a strong running back tandem in the National Football League. He’ll need a speedy tailback that can pass catch in his running backs group to have more success at the professional level, but a good team looking to bolster their offensive game may consider Henry in the late first to early second round of the 2016 NFL Draft.