#5 Derrick Henry: NFL's Jonah Lomu
I, for one, couldn't fit a string between the Chiefs and the Titans when they met in the AFC Divisional Championship match last month. My head was saying, 'Mahomes is too good' but my heart, still racing from the bruising I watched Derrick Henry inflict on the Patriots, told me that he was unstoppable.
In truth, he was - that is until Frank Clark, Mathieu and the Chiefs D started setting up goal-line plays on the half-way line to deal with the powerful, Heisman winning Titans' RB!
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In the end, this wasn't to be Tennessee's year, but, it was certainly Derrick Henry's! The man from the University of Alabama led the league in rushes attempted (305), rushing yards (1540), rushing touchdowns (16 - tied), and quite-rightly received the personal accolade of being named the FedEx Ground Player of the Year winner.
Such was his season that UK fans were quick to draw comparisons between Henry and the late rugby-union legend, Jonah Lomu who very nearly switched disciplines some fifteen years ago when the Dallas Cowboys came calling. Both men were built like the towers of Babylon and near-impossible to tackle at full-speed, and the UK fans enjoyed watching both men dominate their respective sports in different eras.
Whatever franchise picks Henry up during the offseason will be in with a shout for the Super Bowl. That is how good he is, and, over here in London, UK, we will be watching!
#4 Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens
Of all the British fans that I've spoken to, none have failed to mention the brilliance that is Ravens' QB, Lamar Jackson, the reason highlight reels were invented. His ability to run the football out of the pocket made for some jaw-dropping moments this season, and that 47-yard rushing TD against the Bengals mid-season was perhaps the pick of the bunch, straight out of a video game.
Backed up by the ever-aggressive Mark Ingram at RB, the Ravens offense was capable of causing problems for any defense, as former Super Bowl champions, the Patriots found out back in November. The Ravens QB, in his first full year as a starter, even won the praise of one Tom Brady.
Lovers of sport the world over need truly great players to cheer and admonish, and in newly-crowned league MVP Lamar Jackson, the Ravens have found a young star capable of winning over legions of new fans the world over.
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