Denver Broncos Select Louisiana Tech WR Carlos Henderson

HEIGHT: 5’11”

WEIGHT: 199 lbs

40 YD DASH (NFL Combine): 4.46 s

VERTICAL (NFL Combine): 36.0”

BROAD JUMP (NFL Combine): 131.0”

Louisiana Tech wide receiver Carlos Henderson had a solid first two years with the Bulldogs, but following a breakout junior year he chose to leave early for the draft. That decision paid off as Henderson was selected by the Denver Broncos with the 18th pick of the 3rd round (82 overall) in the 2017 NFL Draft. He’ll be joining former Bulldog teammate Vontarrius Dora.

Carlos Henderson may have been able to improve his draft stock by staying for his senior year, but the third round is nothing to scoff at. He’ll join a team that’s been in two of the past four Super Bowls, winning Super Bowl 50. Of course, he’s a couple years too late to catch passes from the legendary Peyton Manning, but I expect he’ll be just fine with the idea of catching passes from Trevor Siemian (or maybe someday Paxton Lynch?). He’ll enjoy being on a team with a solid defense for a change, led by Super Bowl MVP Von Miller. He could potentially make an appearance in the return game, but should be able to find some playing time on offense before too long. He joins players such as Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders in the Denver receiving corps.

Photo by Rob Foldy/Getty Images

Henderson is coming off a breakout year at La Tech. He caught 82 passes for 1535 yards and 19 touchdowns. He scored five touchdowns in a single game twice in 2016 (five receiving vs UMass, four receiving and one rushing vs North Texas). He made his living as a deep threat, using his speed to leave secondaries in his dust. He’ll need to work on honing his route running, but with that perfected he could make a good receiver for the Broncos.

Carlos Henderson is just the third Bulldog in history to be taken in the third round, joining stud RB Ryan Moats and Super Bowl champ DT D’Anthony Smith. Henderson’s 82 spot is 12th best in Tech history, but four of those players taken earlier made Pro Bowl appearances. Only two Tech wide outs have gone earlier, first round picks Troy Edwards and Roger Carr (Pro Bowl appearance). He is the 10th La Tech WR to be drafted.

Henderson is the fourth G5 wide receiver to be taken in 2017. Among the Group of 5, he was the 13th overall player to be taken, as well as the fourth from C-USA.