2014 NFL Draft Scouting Report – Seantrel Henderson, OT Miami(FL)

Oct 26, 2013; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Miami Hurricanes quarterback Stephen Morris (17) drops back to pass in the second half of a game against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Sun Life Stadium. Miami won 24-21. Mandatory Credit: Robert Mayer-USA TODAY Sports

Ever since arriving in Coral Gables, the question for Seantrel Henderson has been when he was going to put it all together and show off his immense talent.  The mammoth of an offensive tackle has shown glimpses of how dominant he could be, but with each and every year with people expecting greatness out of him, he was inconsistent with his effort, with his passion for the game and with trouble he has run into off the field.

No one has ever questioned the potential or ability of Henderson, but there have been questions about everything else.  When he came to Miami(FL), Henderson came with some baggage and has been suspended for at least three games for violations of team rules.  Those questions will have to be answered by Henderson during the draft process and depending on his answers to those questions as well as his overall attitude to the game of football, it could dramatically impact his draft stock.  It is unclear if Henderson really loves football or just loves what football can do for him and figuring out what motivates him will be extremely important on determining when he should be drafted and by which team.

Henderson can be a dominant offensive tackle both as both a run and pass blocker.  He can be simply overpowering and downright hard to believe at times in what he is able to do.  There are some issues to clean up including working to improve his footwork as well as his consistency not only in terms of technique, but in terms of his focus.  Henderson has the potential to go as high as the first round and could fall as low as the third or fourth round.  Someone is going to bet on his immense physical ability and upside but how he does in interviews is going to be enormous as to when and where he will get drafted.  If they have not already, there are likely going to be teams that cross him off their draft board entirely.  Henderson has enormous boom or bust potential and whether he decides to grow up and make football a priority and is the dominant tackle he can be or is out of the league in a couple years, neither would be surprising.

Vitals & Build

Henderson is listed at 6’8” 345lbs and he is the prototype offensive tackle.  His strength is outstanding, his length and reach are fantastic, and he does not look to be carrying much extra weight around his midsection.  It remains to be seen just how fit he is, but he is the type of player who could play with a six pack in the NFL and have absolutely no problem playing in the NFL.  His feet are good, but they are not elite.  For someone his size, he moves well and can seal the edge, but there are those who are about as tall as he is and move better.  For the NFL, Henderson has been capable of stepping in and contributing for a little while and his potential is hard to pinpoint.  He has no need to continue adding strength and would probably be better dropping some weigh to hopefully help his quickness, but at the same time, his frame is not maxed out and he could conceivably add more weight.  Even if his frame can conceivably handle it, there are more far reaching questions and his life after football.  Muscle or not, weight is weight and the heart can only do so much.

Athleticism

Henderson does not have the quickest feet on the planet, but he covers a great deal of ground with his steps whether it is going forward or laterally.  He looks rather ordinary while moving but is deceptive because of the amount of ground.  Henderson looks better and more fluid going forward and is able to drive forward well and get to blocks to help down the field.

Run Blocking

Henderson shows the ability to be a dominant run blocker.  He is able to simply engulf opponents with his size and his arm length and strength make it hard for them unable to do anything to beat the block.  Henderson has the ability to pancake opponents and has had a number of plays where he has been able to land multiple knock down blocks.

Henderson is phenomenal when he is playing against defenders lined up in front of him and is able to get his hands on them quickly and just drive his legs and drive them down the field.  He gets a good punch that can jolt opponents and immediately put them at a disadvantage.

There are more issues when it comes to blocking opponents in space.  On the whole, he is generally fine, but he can take bad angles and end up giving the opponent an angle to get past him or just end up out of control or off balance.  At times, Henderson will throw his body at the opponent which is a waste given his size and strength.

Henderson can get to the second level with relative ease but has inconsistent results.  Between periodically ending up out of control and occasionally having trouble going down to get the opponent, he can have trouble.  When he is right, it has a devastating impact and is just about impossible to stop.  Opponents seem unwilling to even try to go low and take out his legs; they get out of the way.

Pass Protection

Pass protection is where Henderson seems like he should be unstoppable, but the results can be wildly inconsistent.  Between his height, length and range, he is a virtual wall and can slide pretty well in protection.  He has solid footwork and can mirror well, but runs into some problems.  Henderson has the power to jolt opponents and can land pancake blocks in pass protection.

The problems for Henderson appear to be related to a few things.  Focus, his base and balance and then trying to do too much at one time.  When it comes to focus, there are times when Henderson just seems to be lost on the field.  His concentration fails him and he starts guessing what the opponent does and ends up getting beaten.

It is a shock to see someone the size of Henderson get beaten, especially when it happens with power.  He has some issues with dealing with opponents shifting from speed to power.  Usually, he ends up getting too tall with a narrow base and he ends up looking like he took a huge uppercut with how off balance and wobbly he can get.  And when he gets off balance, he has trouble regaining himself quickly and ends up having trouble recovering, giving the opponent plenty of time to exploit it and get to the quarterback.  He also will occasionally just read his opponent wrong and be wrong on how far he needs to slide out in protection.

There are also times when Henderson tries to do too much and it is a situation where good results have reinforced a bad habit.  Henderson shows the ability to be so dominant, so powerful that there are times when he literally blocks two opponents, one with each arm and wins.  He is not pancaking them but he controls them long enough for his quarterback to throw the ball  It is impressive to behold and then sad as pressure gets to the quarterback from the other side.

As a result, there are times when Henderson is trying to do too many things at once and good results from a bad habit make him think he can do more than he can.  Rather than simply focusing and winning against the opponent he is up against, he gets distracted trying to eyeball if he can block a second opponent and the loss of focus can get him beaten.  Henderson may simply not be able to trust his teammates to do their job, but he cannot do their job and not do his.  This is likely a habit that the NFL will break immediately.

Henderson has all of the ability required to play left tackle in the NFL, but these lapses in judgment and inconsistency make it difficult to trust him in that role.  With most quarterbacks right handed, they can see if trouble is coming from his side and deal with it.  If Henderson loses focus and lets an opponent fly by him, he is going to get his quarterback killed.  The potential is certainly there for Henderson to be a franchise left tackle but inconsistency makes that tough to do.

Technique

When it comes to his punch, Henderson is great.  He can jolt opponents in the running or passing game, which makes it easier for him to control them.  Occasionally, he will lunge with his punch and miss the target, resulting in him being overextended and open to getting beat.  He also does a pretty good job with his hand placement as his ballast is incredible and he is naturally able to control opponents.

There are some small issues that need to be cleaned up like trying to block multiple opponents at once; as impressive as it is to see, it is not realistic in the NFL.  He could get away with it against collegiate opponents, but it has to stay there.  Henderson also needs to stay off of the ground, so he can keep blocking and helping the play.

Footwork

Henderson’s feet are solid but unspectacular.  He has pretty deliberate footwork and tends to do a good job with his decisions.  There are times when he will misstep and give up an angle in pass protection that need to be cleaned up, but the larger issue that he needs to improve upon is hitting moving targets.  He is able to generate so much speed and momentum, but he needs to find a way to control it so he does not get matadored by the opponent.  Break down, make the block rather than just hope to hit them.

System Fit

Henderson has the ability to play in any system as a tackle.  His athleticism may not be ideal for everyone but his length makes up for quite a bit.  Power schemes make the most sense, but he will be attractive to most teams because he is such an impressive prospect physically.  Because of his inconsistency, he is likely to play right tackle at least initially but he has the ability to play on the left side.

The larger question with Henderson is fitting him in terms of the organization and coaching staff.  With the issues he has had problems with including some off field issues as well as questions with motivation, it is important that he gels with the team that picks him.  Money may motivate him to the levels of greatness he should have but did not reach in college, but that is going to be a large part of the interview process for him.  Henderson has to answer questions about motivation and why he was not the dominant player consistently that he was expected to be and could have been.

NFL Comparison

As a player, Henderson is eerily similar to Jared Gaither, mostly known for his time as a Baltimore Raven.  Gaither opted to leave the University of Maryland early because he had problems staying eligible academically.  Like with Henderson, Gaither was built with an uncanny body to play in the NFL, but faced many of the same questions about motivation, work ethic and how much he loved the game of football when he was in the supplemental draft.  Gaither ended up going in round 5, but was able to have some years of incredible success for the Ravens.  A combination of back problems and a lack of motivation ultimately forced him out of the league.  Some or all of Gaither’s career could happen to Henderson.

Draft Projection

Henderson has an immense amount of physical talent and potential.  He has shown the ability to play at a premier level at times but there always to be something that causes him to be inconsistent.  The questions with Henderson are mostly ones he is going to have to answer in hopes of convincing teams he is worth betting on in the NFL Draft.  It seems like Henderson will end up going somewhere in the top four rounds but without knowing the details of his interviews, or how he comes off with teams, it becomes incredibly difficult to project his overall draft prospects.

Some of the film used in this scouting breakdown was provided by the good folks at draftbreakdown.com