He may not be as recognizable as Christian McCaffrey, but the Denver Broncos have found their ace on special teams.
Seeking a returner and offensive threat with the “juice” to take a punt or kickoff to the house, the Broncos have selected Carlos Henderson out of Louisiana Tech with their third round selection and the 82nd pick overall.
Don’t expect him to only return kicks. Henderson is very much in play to be Denver’s No. 3 option at wide receiver behind Pro Bowlers Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders. Henderson logged 1,535 receiving yards and 19 receiving touchdowns in 2016, which shows his ability to play receiver at the next level.
Henderson comes to Denver as a versatile scoring threat. Last season for Louisiana Tech, he had 82 catches, 14 rushes and 25 kickoff returns. He made the most of his opportunities, netting 21 touchdowns.
At 5-foot-11 and 199 pounds, Henderson is built like a running back, but has the speed and quickness of a receiver. He ran a 4.46 yard 40-yard dash at the 2017 NFL Combine.
According to Pro Football Focus, Henderson forced a whopping 48 missed tackles last year. PFF likens him to Rams’ wide receiver Tavon Austin. The Broncos hope he can be a scoring threat that’s as dangerous as Kansas City’s Tyreek Hill.
Henderson’s route running is also more developed than other wide receivers in the draft and his shiftiness and ability to break tackles makes him dangerous in space. He’s not afraid to block either.
The Broncos clearly needed help on the offensive side of the ball, as the offense finished 27th in the NFL in total offense. Lacking a consistent option behind the two starters, Thomas and Sanders, quarterbacks Paxton Lynch and Trevor Siemian had little help when trying to move the ball.
Henderson will compete with former second round pick Cody Latimer, Bennie Fowler and Jordan Taylor to line up in the slot in new offensive coordinator Mike McCoy’s balanced attack.
