Rookie running back De’Angelo Henderson will have lots of competition ahead of him on the depth chart when he enters training camp in late July. A pair of Pro Bowlers in C.J. Anderson and Jamaal Charles top the list, with veterans Bernard Pierce, Juwan Thompson and Devontae Booker all vying for a roster spot as well. But if Henderson can be anything like the three players he models his game after, there’s a good chance he’ll be climbing the ranks in short order.
On Saturday Henderson met with the media following the team’s rookie orientation practice and described a trio of fantastic NFL running backs whose playing style influenced his.
“Growing up, my favorite running backs were Barry Sanders and Warrick Dunn,” Henderson For the most part, I try to do what they do, but at the same time, MJD [Maurice Jones-Drew] came along and started plowing through people. I thought, let me try that. There are definitely different guys that I looked at that play the game. I’m naturally attracted to the guys who are more my size.”
At 5-foot-7, Henderson is one of the two shortest Broncos (joining fellow rookie Isaiah McKenzie). At 208 pounds, he’s not the lightest player on the roster, but is one of the lightest of the running back corps. He’s also right in line with that impressive triumvirate of backs.
Sanders checked in at 5-foot-8, 200 pounds during his playing days. Dunn was 5-foot-9 and a sleek 189 pounds. And Jones-Drew was a near match for Henderson at 5-foot-7, 210 pounds.
If Henderson can log even a fraction of the accolades those three earned during their NFL careers, the Broncos will have landed a steal with the sixth-round pick.
Sanders was a six-time All-Pro, four-time rushing leader, two-time Offensive Player of the Year and the 1997 NFL Most Valuable Player. He ranks third all time in NFL rushing yards.
Dunn earned the ’97 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and was a three-time Pro Bowler. Upon retirement he joined an investment group led by Arthur Blank that took ownership of the Atlanta Falcons.
Jones-Drew was the 2011 rushing leader and two-time first-team All-Pro. He earned second-team all-pro honors once, as well.
Henderson brings his own accolades to Denver. The Coastal Carolina product holds the NCAA Division I record for consecutive games with a touchdown, finding the end zone in 35 straight games for the Chanticleers.
Henderson also has a familiar face from his college days joining him in Denver. New special teams coordinator Brock Olivo coached Henderson at Coastal Carolina and saw firsthand what the explosive back is capable of. Olivo’s energy and enthusiasm is going to help Henderson in his pursuit to be the next great diminutive NFL running back.
“Coach Brock is one of those guys that I naturally just fed off of when I was with him at Coastal,” Henderson said. “His energy, his enthusiasm, his intelligence of the game, everything. Definitely, fed off of him and everything he provided for us and brought to the table at Coastal. Definitely going to do the same here. I’m going to be a sponge and soak in as much as I can from him and the guys as well. Definitely great to have a familiar face here.”
Henderson is a speedster, who clocked the fourth-fastest 40-yard dash time among running backs at the 2017 NFL Combine. His 4.48 tied with top-10 pick Christian McCaffrey and San Diego State’s Donnel Pumphrey, an All-American who rushed for 6,290 yards in his career.
He was also a high performer in the broad jump and vertical jump, so despite his relatively small stature he’s among the most athletic backs to come out of a very talented rookie class of backs.
Although McCaffrey and LSU back Leonard Fournette, both picked in the top-10, enter camp with the highest expectations for stardom, there should be no sleeping on Henderson. He has a build and raw tools that match three of the all-time greats – players he looked up to long before the Broncos tabbed him to be the future of their backfield.