Free Agent Profile: TE Hunter Henry
Taking a closer look at what Hunter Henry could bring to Washington
Washington had one of their best free agent signings in recent times last offseason when the team brought in tight end Logan Thomas on a two-year, $6 million deal. Thomas was still learning the tight end position having converted from quarterback and had a breakout season in 2020, with 72 catches for 670 yards and six touchdowns. That’s far beyond what everyone could have expected out of Thomas in his first season in Washington and while the team will be happy with Thomas going into this season, the tight end position shouldn’t be considered set in stone.
Thomas played well and still has room to grow, but the depth behind him is worrying. Jeremy Sprinkle and Marcus Baugh, the other two tight ends on the roster, combined for just two catches and eight receiving yards last season. Adding another receiving threat at tight end should be something Washington prioritises this offseason. Scott Turner’s offense is all about moving players around to manipulate matchups. Having a second tight end that is a legitimate receiving threat to the defense would allow Turner to use two tight end sets, either in 12 personnel (one running back, two tight ends) or 22 personnel (two backs, two right ends). From there, Turner can force the defense into base fronts and use his variety of formations and motions to work the best possible matchups, including perhaps getting wide receiver Terry McLaurin on a linebacker while the tight ends and backs occupy the better coverage defenders.
That brings us to Hunter Henry, the top tight end expected to hit the market in free agency. The 26-year-old tight end was a second-round draft pick of the Chargers in 2016 and has the skillset to be the explosive receiving threat at tight end that could fit what Turner likes to do offensively. Henry is more of a quick-twitch athlete than Thomas and would provide Washington with a different style of receiving tight end.
This play is a good example of Henry’s athletic ability. The Chargers fake an outside zone to the right with Henry sifting back across the line to the left. The left side of the line then peel off their blocks and work out in front of Henry as part of a tight end screen. Henry receives the ball in the flat and then shows his speed to get up the sideline for a near 30-yard gain.
That athletic ability translates to Henry’s route running. He’s shifty and able to work in and out of breaks quickly to create separation.
The first play of this clip shows Henry’s ability to get off the line of scrimmage. He’s aligned to the left of the formation with a defender on the line of scrimmage ready to jam him. As the ball is snapped, Henry takes a quick stutter step and a strong jab step inside to force the defender to commit inside. Henry then suddenly works back outside, causing the defender to lose balance as he turns to try and keep up. Henry breaks open, but the quarterback looks to the other side of the field before getting sacked. On the second play, Henry runs a pivot route from a tight split. He breaks inside off the snap and sells a shallow cross effectively before suddenly sticking his foot in the ground and pivoting back outside. Just like before, he creates plenty of separation and this time the quarterback finds him for a first down.
On the third play of the clip, the Chiefs send a Cover-0 blitz, leaving a safety in pure man-coverage against Henry. This is where Henry differs from Logan Thomas. Thomas is a good receiver and provides a nice target for the quarterback, but he isn’t nuanced with his routes yet and doesn’t have the explosiveness that Henry has, which means he can struggle at times against man-coverage. Henry, however, understands how to set up routes and attack leverage. He angles his route wider off the snap to take the safety outside and out of his heavy inside leverage. Once the safety steps up towards him, Henry cuts across his face and is open across the middle for another first down.
Henry doesn’t receive the ball on the fourth play, but it’s another example of him setting up his route and creating separation. He runs a basic cross, working vertical for 12-14 yards before breaking across the middle. Henry widens his route off the line again, giving himself space to work across the middle and dragging the safety wider. At the top of his route, Henry gives a jab step and head fake outside, selling a corner route before breaking inside. This freezes the safety and leaves Henry wide open over the middle.
While Henry is a very good route runner and uses his athleticism to his advantage, he’s also a smart receiver. He understands leverage of the defenders and is quick to recognize when to break off his route and find space to make himself available to the quarterback.
On the first play of this clip, Henry aligns to the right of the formation and runs a simple stick route. The Jets play a zone defense and as Henry breaks outside, he notices the defender closest to him chasing the receiver in the flat. Instead of continuing his route outside, he breaks it off and sits down behind the defender running to the flat. That leaves him open in the end zone for the touchdown. The second play shows similar awareness, but against different coverage. Henry runs the corner route on the popular Spider 2 Y Banana concept. He wins initially but his quarterback is unable to get the throw away. Henry looks back and spots the quarterback rolling out while the defender is running blindly to the sideline while also keeping his eyes on the quarterback. Henry smartly breaks off his route again and allows the defender to continue running blindly to the sideline, leaving himself wide open in the end zone for another touchdown.
With the third play of the clip, we see Henry understand his role within a play. He runs a crossing route, which in isolation would just be a shallow cross. However, he knows they have a vertical route outside to clear the deep defenders with the running back swinging out to the flat. Henry’s route is designed to create traffic for any defender working to the flat. He deliberately runs his route in a way to impact the linebacker in charge of defending the flat, preventing him from getting out to the back, who is left wide open for an easy first down.
Being able to understand how to manipulate leverage, find and create space for himself and make himself available to the quarterback not only shows a high football IQ, but also makes him a quarterback’s dream. Those traits will quickly make him the quarterback’s best friend and go-to target. His ability to adjust to different ball placements also helps in that regard.
Here we see a few examples of Henry being able to adjust his body position to the placement of the throw, while also shielding the ball with his body from any nearby defenders. He’s able to stop his momentum and work back to a low ball on a deep over off play-action on the first play, while on the second play Henry quickly gets his body turned around to secure a throw deliberately placed on him. He gets his body between the ball and the defender, protecting the throw as he secures the catch. He does the same on the third play, despite knowing a safety is driving down to land a hit on him moments after the ball arrives.
The only real concern with regards to Henry is his ability to stay healthy. He’s yet to play a full 16-game season in the NFL and missed all of 2018 with a torn ACL. He suffered a fracture in his knee in September 2019 that caused him to miss the first four games of that season. However, he was on track to complete his first full season in 2020 before being placed on the Covid list in late December, which caused him to miss the final two games of the year. Washington fans may be getting Jordan Reed flashbacks, which I understand, but he hasn’t been as beat up as Reed was during his time in Washington.
Overall, Henry would provide Washington with an excellent receiving option at tight end that could really open things up offensively. Along with Logan Thomas, the pair could create matchup issues for defenses that would have to decide to either play base defense against two tight end sets and risk coverage mismatches or play nickel defense with extra coverage defenders, but risk being light in the box against the run. In passing situations, Henry is more than capable of being isolated on the back side of trips sets and dictating coverage. With a tight end that can win against man-coverage from that type of situation, the quarterback gets lots of information pre-snap to help him identify coverage indicators and if the defense plays man, then the quarterback has a go-to receiver to work with. He’s the top available tight end on the market, so he should command a big contract, but I believe he’d make an excellent addition to Washington’s offense.
Why would San Diego not re sign him? We tried for Hooper last year. Maybe we get this guy? Would like Ertz if he is available. His play deteriorated this year but still like him
He would be great to have but I just don’t see them signing him. He would cost 10-11 million per year. I think the will spend the Money on a WR.