Third-round draft pick Carlos Henderson got off to a slow start to his first training camp with the Denver Broncos, being overshadowed by a fellow wide receiver in his draft class, Isaiah McKenzie. But as camp enters its second week, Henderson is starting to come around.
Head coach Vance Joseph attributed Henderson’s struggles to pressing a bit much in the early going.
“He’s a rookie,” Joseph said on Day 3 of camp. “He’s trying hard. He wants to be a good player. He’s trying hard. He wants to help us on offense. He’s trying a little too hard right now, but he’ll be fine. It’s early.”
Fast-forward to Day 5, and special teams coach Brock Olivo is seeing positive things from the rookie in the third phase.
“Where you really see it is when he’s catching punts. Catching a punt and catching kickoff are two completely different things,” Olivo said of Henderson’s progress. “Catching kickoffs, he did that in college and he has to improve there as well. He’s improved tenfold catching punts. When you can do that, you can catch a kickoff any day.”
Olivo was very complimentary of the rookie wide receiver, stating how excited he is to see what Henderson can do for the Broncos in the return game.
“Carlos [Henderson] has been doing a great job catching, He’s actually improved a whole lot since the beginning of camp because he works on it. He knows that that’s one way he’s going to be able to get on the field for us this year,” Olivo explained. “He’s a big strong kid, he’s got linear speed, he can break tackles, he proved that in college. Carlos has made a bunch of strides. We’re happy with where he is right now.”
Coach Olivo has been outspoken about his excitement for some of the new special teams pieces he is working with this year, and Carlos Henderson has continued that trend.
