De’Angelo Henderson can play.
In back-to-back preseason games, the Denver Broncos’ sixth-round pick certainly seems to be carving a place out for himself in the jam-packed running backs room.
Along with scoring the game winning touchdown in the Broncos 24-17 win over the Chicago Bears in the first preseason game, Henderson also ran for 54 yards on seven carries. During Saturday night’s 33-14 victory against the San Francisco 49ers, Henderson showed that his performance against the Bears wasn’t a fluke.
Henderson backed up C.J. Anderson on Saturday, and once again played a very solid game. He ran for 30 yards on six carries in addition to catching two passes for 20 yards. He would’ve added his first receiving touchdown to his resume had his lengthy touchdown reception from quarterback Trevor Siemian not been called back for holding on Garett Bolles.
When Henderson showed up for training camp, his road to making the team seemed like a long one. He arrived as the lone rookie in a room packed full of experience. As a sixth-round pick, Denver might have hoped to stash him on the practice squad this season. His performance in the first two preseason games has made that all but impossible.
Had Stevan Ridley not gobbled up a few more yards in garbage time, Henderson would’ve led the Broncos in rushing for the second straight week. Henderson’s big two weeks may have come a surprise to the casual fan, but the Broncos had an idea that he could play when they drafted him in the sixth round of the 2017 NFL draft.
Henderson was a touchdown machine in his four seasons at Coastal Carolina. He rushed for 4,735 yards and 58 touchdowns. His touchdown in 35 consecutive games set an NCAA Division I record.
Henderson may have the least amount of experience in the room, but his big preseason is certainly making up for it. In the face of adversity, he’s leaving the Broncos’ personnel department with some tough decisions to make come Sept. 2 when it’s time for cuts. If he manages to keep his big preseason rolling, the decision might actually be an easy one.