On Wednesday morning, it was reported by Mike Klis of 9News that second-year wide receiver Carlos Henderson will miss the start of training camp as he deals with family issues.
Broncos WR Carlos Henderson will start training camp in exempt list as he’s dealing with family and personal situation. Agent Erik Burkhardt “We've spoken to Coach Joseph and the organization and they are fully aware of this and have been supportive.” #9sports
— Mike Klis (@MikeKlis) July 25, 2018
I definitely respect Henderson’s decision to attend to his personal life because we really have no idea what’s going on there, but oh man does this not bode well for his chances with the Broncos this year.
This is a team that’s suddenly deep at wide receiver with the two obvious starters and the two draft picks, Courtland Sutton and DaeSean Hamilton.
When he was picked in the third round out of LA Tech last year, Henderson looked like the real deal. Fast, good hands, return ability, and the most broken tackles in college football the year he was drafted.
The man is a beast with the ball in his hands. Granted this play was against UMass, a school that’s not really known for its football prowess, but I’m definitely getting a little torqued seeing him rip off a huge touchdown at Gillette Stadium.
Of course, his rookie season was a sunk cost after he got shut down for the year with a thumb injury in preseason (questionable move by the coaching staff, I’d rather let a guy figure it out during a losing season).
But when you have DT and Sanders at the top of the depth chart locked in at one and two, and then you’ve got this guy entering the fold as a rookie…
…it’s doesn’t help your chances of getting on the field, or even making the team. Throw in the fact that he’s not even going to be present at the start of training camp, and yikes man I have a hard time seeing him beating out a vet like Jordan Taylor.
So here’s the way I see the wide receiver depth chart right now:
Locks
- Demaryius Thomas
- Emmanuel Sanders
- Courtland Sutton
- DaeSean Hamilton
On the Bubble
- Jordan Taylor
- Isaiah McKenzie
- Carlos Henderson
Camp Guys
- Kenny Bell
- Tim Patrick
- John Diarse
- River Cracraft
I’m rooting for Henderson because, if nothing else, I want to see what he can do on the field when given a real chance. He’s the common case of an ultra-talented wide receiver that has something else holding him back.
If I were on the Broncos coaching staff, I wouldn’t get rid of him. At the very least I think you have to stash him on the practice squad. Even Cody Latimer found a way to contribute as a special teamer before he started to figure things out as a receiver last season. Hopefully, it’s a similar case for Henderson where it just takes a little longer than we thought.
It’s easy to see why he got picked, but it’s harder to figure out why he’s not putting it together.
