Seantrel Henderson: A Closer Look at the Miami OT

By: Justin Partlow

Coming out of high school, Seantrel Henderson was seen as the next great OT prospect. With hype building him up to be an Orlando Pace type player, the expectations were there from the start. Unfortunately, Henderson was never able to live up to the hype, and was never able to get away from the Al Golden doghouse. Henderson is one of the most gifted athletes in this class, but leaves a lot to be desired. If an OL coach can properly motivate him, watch out and see just what you can get from him.

Technique:

Technique is something that’s almost as important for offensive linemen as any other position. Usually in college, tackles can get away with poor technique because they have sheer physical ability over their opponent. In the NFL though, it’s quite the different story. When you see the film for Henderson one word describes his technique, inconsistent. On the film, you see Henderson on one play show a very proper base, and show a natural bend. The next play you’ll see him stand straight up and not have any sort of base to play with. When Henderson plays with the base he has and settles in properly, he can be a very good tackle. The problem comes that Henderson just is so inconsistent that you just don’t know which one will show up on game day. That concern weighs heavily as an evaluator because you don’t want your QB being injured by playing with poor technique, and Henderson’s technique could allow for that to be happened.

Run Blocking:

When you pop on the tape for Henderson, it’s easy to see how dominant he can be because of his sheer physical size. When Henderson is able to get his hands on his opponent in the run game, it is game over. Henderson is able to lock onto the defender, and in some instances, just throw his opponent around like a rag doll. Henderson seems to struggle with smaller speedy guys at times because of his height and length. Henderson as well seems to lunge at times to his defender and will show poor footwork when in run plays. The issue with Henderson comes back to the main technique flaws mentioned above. Seantrel was able to mainly get away with his flaws because of his physically dominant he was over everyone. Those flaws will be exposed much easier moving forward into the NFL and teams will be able to take advantage of his poor footwork and lunging issues.

Pass Blocking:

Continuing along with the main theme with the report, Henderson is a very inconsistent pass blocker as well. The biggest issue on film I see with Henderson is his bending in pass protection. He has a bit of a waist bend and it shows up easily on the film. The other main issue that Henderson has is that he doesn’t do a good job with his hand placement in pass protection. This is mainly an inconsistency on the film that can be fixed over time. Henderson shows potential on film though with his pass protection. When he is able to not bend at the waist and have proper hand placement, he easily is able to stop his defender. The problem comes that he struggles to show that consistency and just hasn’t been able to throughout his college career.

Overall:

When watching Seantrel Henderson, you want to love what he can do, but you also have a lot to be concerned about moving forward. When you combine the inconsistencies along with his off the field issues, it’s hard to be a big fan of what Henderson can be in the NFL. The problem is the tantalizing physical attributes and the things that you cant teach that Henderson has. If Henderson can find a way to become more consistent and give about 75% of what he has, he can be a good RT in the NFL, and if someone can really push him to that level of greatness, then watch out because he could be a stud player. IF, and that’s a big if, a team can get the most out of Henderson, then watch out because his value to the team will greatly outweigh where he will be drafted in May. I currently hold a 5^th round grade on Henderson, but at the same time I wouldn’t be surprised to see a team gamble on him earlier than that or he falls all the way to the 6^th round range.

Should the Redskins target or avoid Seantrel Henderson (OT – Miami) in the draft?