Nik Bonitto was the first player in addressing trenches on defense and now Denver Broncos go there again with Matt Henningsen.
Matt Henningsen was part of a Wisconsin Badgers team that predicated itself on defense and running the football.
At 289 pounds he has some freakishly athletic traits that will jump off the page for fans. Henningsen also has incredible acumen at the position and in the classroom. He earned his engineering degree and achieved a 4.0 GPA during his time at Wisconsin.
This is not the first time the Denver Broncos addressed a Big Ten player under George Paton.
Henningsen became the first Wisconsin Badgers player to be a walk-on and start an opener since 1990. He also has shown unbelievable durability in his career.
At Wisconsin, he missed only two games. Henningsen’s career totals in college are solid. 13 tackles for loss, 89 total tackles, eight sacks, and three fumble recoveries. Solid contributions from a player on a team that prides itself on defense and is one of the best in college football.
Last year, the Broncos drafted another pass rusher who slept through the cracks. Jonathon Cooper became a Bronco and contributed in his first season. Both Henningsen and Cooper have a nonstop motor to get to the quarterback.
Henningsen is a bully with his strength. It results in a powerful bull rush with his moves. Cooper on other hand has an array of athleticism and moves to sack a quarterback.
Moving to the pass rush side of things Denver needed a lot of depth on that front. Malik Reed has been one of the more productive sack artists for the team but he lacks some instincts to instantly react on run fits on defense.
Reed has a ridiculous motor and is a good player, but with the Denver Broncos deciding to offer a right to refusal deal as a restricted free agent lends me to believe they are okay moving on from him.
In terms of the experts’ perspective on the Matt Henningsen pick by Denver, what do they think?
#Broncos got one of the best athletes at DT and one of the smartest players in the NFL Draft in Matt Henningsen.
— Eric Galko (@EricGalko) April 30, 2022
Powerful nose tackle who finished in the top-97th percentile in agility and jumping drills (per @MathBomb)
Great fit for Denver. Congrats @matthenningsen! #NFLDraft https://t.co/SLnZVYuEPA pic.twitter.com/fiNrtmiMRA
Matt Henningsen was drafted with pick 206 of round 6 in the 2022 draft class. He scored a 9.34 RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 98 out of 1459 DT from 1987 to 2022. https://t.co/4mtlIYPCFL #RAS #Broncos pic.twitter.com/UiilekRgII
— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) April 30, 2022
Denver just drafted one of the freakiest athletes in this whole draft and I love him dearly. https://t.co/RCN4g4zOoV
— Brett Kollmann (@BrettKollmann) April 30, 2022
Put on the tape for Matt Henningsen against Notre Dame and he immediately stands out. Aligned as a 4i on this play and does a good job popping out of his stance, creates separation with both hands and as he disengages, he begins the chase. pic.twitter.com/nmoCrShrVx
— Russell Brown (@RussNFLDraft) January 7, 2022
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