Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry is approaching significant milestones as the 2025 National Football League season begins. Over the past three seasons, Henry has averaged 1,542 rushing yards and posted a minimum of 1,059 yards in any year he started at least 12 games since joining the Tennessee Titans in 2018.
If Henry rushes for 1,100 yards during the upcoming season, projections indicate that he will pass six Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinees—including Jim Brown—moving to eleventh on the league’s all-time rushing list. Should he reach 1,317 yards—a threshold surpassed by him four times in six years—he would overtake Tony Dorsett for a spot among the top ten rushers. At age 31, Henry continues to produce above expectations and maintains a rigorous offseason regimen. Last season, he averaged 5.9 yards per carry and recorded an eighty-seven-yard touchdown run against the Buffalo Bills.
Among active players, Henry stands as the leading rusher with eleven thousand four hundred twenty-three career yards (nineteenth all time), with Zeke Elliott second at nine thousand one hundred thirty yards but currently not signed to a team. On touchdowns, Henry is tied with Jim Brown for sixth place at one hundred six rushing touchdowns; after scoring sixteen last season, he is seventeen behind Marcus Allen for third place on that list.
Aaron Rodgers enters his first year with the Pittsburgh Steelers ranked seventh all time with sixty-two thousand nine hundred fifty-two passing yards. He needs one thousand ninety-six more to surpass Ben Roethlisberger for fifth overall. Achieving two thousand eight passing yards would see Rodgers become only the fifth player in league history to reach sixty-five thousand career passing yards.
Rodgers is also close to moving up on other records: “Rodgers already shares a spot with those four as the only players with five hundred or more TD passes, and he needs six more to pass Favre for fourth on that list. It might be a stretch to think Rodgers can throw thirty-seven TD passes this season, but that’s what he needs to pass Manning for third.”
Matthew Stafford became a top-ten career leader in both passing yards and touchdowns last year and is second among active quarterbacks in these categories behind Rodgers. A three-thousand-yard campaign could move Stafford ahead of Dan Marino and Matt Ryan into eighth place all time; twenty-three more touchdown passes would make him only the ninth player ever with four hundred career touchdown throws.
Russell Wilson of the New York Giants could rise on several lists if he holds his starting role throughout the year: “With rookie Jaxson Dart getting lots of attention, it’s not a lock that Russell Wilson will be the New York Giants’ starter all season. If he does, Wilson will threaten the top ten lists in passing yards and touchdowns.” Wilson needs seventeen touchdown throws to surpass Eli Manning’s total; if Stafford moves up as expected, then Wilson would require thirty-two scores this season for tenth place all time.
Several wide receivers and tight ends are poised for advances in their statistical ranks as well. Tight end Travis Kelce enters this year fourteenth overall in receptions (one thousand four) but remains consistent despite aging: “Say all you want about the thirty-five-year-old tight end being on the decline (…). Other than his rookie season which he missed with a knee injury, Kelce has never had fewer than sixty-seven receptions in a season — and he hasn’t had fewer than ninety-two catches in the last seven years.” With sixty-seven catches this year Kelce will move into tenth place past Reggie Wayne; further production could bring him closer behind Tony Gonzalez and Jason Witten among tight ends.
Among wide receivers DeAndre Hopkins (twelve thousand nine hundred sixty-five receiving yards), Mike Evans (twelve thousand six hundred eighty-four), Davante Adams (eleven thousand eight hundred forty-four), Keenan Allen (nine-hundred seventy-four receptions), along with Adams again in touchdown catches (one-hundred three) remain within striking distance of various historic marks including membership within elite groupings defined by reception totals or receiving scores.
On defense there are no current players inside top fifteen on career sacks charts though Von Miller leads active competitors at one-hundred twenty-nine point five sacks—sixteenth most historically—and can move higher with continued productivity this coming fall.
This article was first published by Athlon Sports and redistributed here under permission.
