De’Angelo Henderson won’t play this year unless injuries arise
Denver Broncos rookie running back De’Angelo Henderson, a preseason star, won’t play this regular season unless injuries arise, per Vance Joseph…
De’Angelo Williams was the Denver Broncos’ most impressive playmaker during the 2017 preseason, so naturally, he wouldn’t play a single down in the regular season.
The Broncos entered 2017 with a deep stable of backs, one led by C.J. Anderson and Jamaal Charles. Henderson was active while Devontae Booker recovered from an injury he suffered in training camp, but when Booker returned, Henderson went on the back burner.
The sixth round pick out of Coastal Carolina showed off his incredible quickness and speed in the preseason, as well as an ability to catch passes out of the backfield.
You would hate to have to see any of that in regular season play…
All sarcasm aside, the Broncos’ health at running back hasn’t translated to a stellar running game, by any means. This is still a team that struggles to find any sort of balance whatsoever on offense, and head coach Vance Joseph indicated that Henderson will continue to not play as long as all of Anderson, Charles, and Booker are healthy.
"“It’s really numbers. We have three veteran backs that we feel good about one fullback on the roster that we’re going to dress. We’re dressing four backs, we can’t dress five. It’s strictly numbers. If he dresses, someone else has to go down and that’s going to mean we’re short somewhere else. He is down because of numbers.”Vance Joseph (quotes via Broncos PR)"
So, according to the head coach of the team, the Broncos would have to have someone get injured in order for Henderson to even dress for games.
That’s not exactly what the fans want to hear, especially with the lack of usage we’ve seen this year from the veteran Charles.
Charles has often looked like the Broncos’ most explosive running back, but so far this season, he doesn’t even have 100 touches through 12 games.
That’s alarming.
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The Broncos have ultimately failed in terms of putting the ball in the hands of their best players offensively, a deeper issue when considering the lack of appearances this season by their rookie running back.
Denver has not just failed to get the ball to the best players on the field often enough, but they have failed their rookie class by not getting these guys enough reps in a lost season. Henderson isn’t even the only Henderson that was wrongfully cheated of his rookie season, as third rounder Carlos Henderson was placed on injured reserve with an injury that we were told was going to put him out 2-4 weeks initially.
Garett Bolles has played the majority of offensive snaps this year as the team’s starting left tackle, but let’s look at some of the other totals…
DeMarcus Walker: 47
Carlos Henderson: 0
Brendan Langley: 67 (defense), 175 (special teams)
Jake Butt: 0
Isaiah McKenzie: 90 (offense), 75 (special teams)
De’Angelo Henderson: 1 (offense), 47 (special teams)
Chad Kelly: 0
What a shame.