The Seattle Seahawks didn't have to make a ton of moves this offseason, and they kept most of their Super Bowl-winning core in town. Of course, replacing Kenneth Walker III was a tall order, but the passing game was mostly taken care of.
Even so, general manager John Schneider made a sneakily great pick in the sixth round. Kansas' Emmanuel Henderson Jr. was an enticing prospect with big-play potential, and while there were also some ball-security concerns, the potential was evident.
Henderson's woes were on full display early in OTAs, but it may have been just some rookie jitters. According to Corbin Smith of Emerald City Spectrum, he really turned the corner and finished strong in minicamp.
Emmanuel Henderson Jr. can be a steal for the Seattle Seahawks
“Henderson Jr. got off to a rough start early in OTAs, watching several catchable passes clunk off his hands for bad drops,” Smirth wrote. “But he started to find his footing in minicamp, flashing his elite speed snagging a crosser in the red zone and diving inside the pylon for a touchdown during a red zone period in the final practice.”
The Seahawks may have the best -- or one of the best -- wide receivers in the game, but they don't have that much depth at the position. Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Cooper Kupp, and Rashid Shaheed will start, with Jake Bobo as the first guy off the bench.
That leaves the door wide open for another big-play specialist like Henderson to make his way to the roster and carve himself some sort of a role in the offense. He will most likely have to make his bread and butter on special teams, but it wouldn't be shocking to see him take some snaps from Tory Horton if he works on his ball-security issues.
He had four receptions of 50+ yards in his final season in college, and he averaged 17.2 yards per reception in his four seasons. He may not have broken out at Alabama as expected, but he made the most of the expanded opportunities with the Jayhawks, so he may only need more touches to show what he can do.
Henderson can do a little bit of everything, and his ability to contribute on both sides of special teams -- he also had 14 special team tackles -- should help him get on the field early and often. He ran a pretty decent 4.44 40-yard dash, and that type of skill set should always have a place in the league.
Rookies usually don't make much of an impact on Super Bowl-caliber teams, at least late-round rookies. Still, Coach Macdonald runs a meritocracy, and if his arrow keeps trending up at training camp, he'll figure out the best way to get him involved.
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