2026 DRAFT PICK #199: WR Emmanuel Henderson JR

[Torc]

I dunno. Special teams aren't an afterthought for Macdonald. I think Shaheed will still be returning kicks. Maybe this kid will be on the other side for kickoffs though. I like the pick - in the 6th round you're basically taking a swing at a guy who may or may not stick. Filling a special teams role isn't a bad way for him to catch on. And Kupp will probably coach him through any drop issues he has.

 

[MontanaHawk05]

This kind of pick is how you get (or keep) the league's best special teams unit.

 

[Floridahawk79]

A new toy for Jay

 

[Kamcussionator]

Milroe played with him at Alabama. Avg 20.5 ypc in limited action. 21.4 KR average.

Last year he was at Kansas (they play football!?) Averaged 17.0 ypc and 25.3 KR average. Definitely a big play guy.

Makes me think of Brandin Cooks or Tavon Austin. Not sure how that translates into our offense.

Apparently he doesn't do punt returns.

 

[Shane Falco]

A good special teamer in the 6th and beyond is a win in my book. Anything more is bonus.

 

[Pandion Haliaetus]

With Shaheed getting paid I assume he won’t be our main returner this year unless nothing else pans out. Those are big shoes to fill.

You could be right but his best skill is his return ability. And my cope with his contract extension was like 3 for 36 as a WR, then 3 for 15 on his return ability.

 

[kidhawk]

Just saw the call the team made to him when they made the pick. Macdonald spoke to him for a moment then said that there wasn’t anyone as excited to talk to him as our special teams coach and handed the phone to Harbaugh. I think that pretty much cements what the plan is. Hopefully he can get us a little gravy on offense from time to time too.

 

[glenwo2]

Not a fan of the pick mainly 'cause I'm not a fan of wasting draft picks on Gunners.

whatever. (this was a Dareke Young replacement, i guess. )

 

[onanygivensunday]

I like the pick... mainly because of Jay Harbaugh's input to John. If you didn't see John and Mike's post-draft presser, John mentioned how extensively Jay scouted for Special Teams players leading up to the draft... and since Jay is heavily invested in Henderson, I like the pick.

 

[Dallashawksfan]

It’s a 6th rounder, they even traded down and got another pick

There is no risk to this. The cost was so minimal

 

[sutz]

Looking at our roster, most of the 6th/7th rounders best path to making the 53 is on special teams. TBH, though, that's true most years.

 

[glenwo2]

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[themunn]

He's Dareke Young's replacement.

That's what I'm getting here.

Gregg Bell: per The News Tribune

I’ve been covering NFL drafts since my first one on the Oakland Raiders for the Sacramento Bee 23 years ago. I can’t remember anyone drafting a punt-team gunner, specifically for that role. The Seahawks did this weekend. They lost their gunner, wide receiver Dareke Young, in free agency to the Raiders last month. That’s what why Seattle picked Henderson. He was elite at being a gunner in college. Schneider noted Henderson clocked almost 23mph in GPS tracking sprinting down the sideline outside closing in on and tackling opposing punt returners. He’s also a punt returner. Yes, a punt returner who also tackles punt returners. Henderson isn’t breaking into a wide-receiver rotation among Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Cooper Kupp, Rashid Shaheed, Jake Bobo and Tory Horton. But he’s got a job waiting for him on the 2026 team as a gunner.

Seeing as how the Rams muffed punts were pivotal in our march to success last season, I can see the value here.

 

[SoulfishHawk]

When he takes one to the house, people will love the pick

 

[Jville]

This kind of pick is how you get (or keep) the league's best special teams unit.

Another talent for Jay Harbaugh.

Competition between Emmanuel Henderson Jr. and Ricky White III should be intriguing.

 

[CouchLogic]

Dude is a sniper on ST, cheers to watching him be a menace.

 

[AnimeAmore]

With Shaheed getting paid I assume he won’t be our main returner this year unless nothing else pans out. Those are big shoes to fill.

I don't care if people are sick of me, our offense got worse when we acquired Shaheed, and it was worse when he was on the field vs on the sideline.
His only value is as a returner, which already made him extremely overpriced. If he won't even be doing the one thing he's good at then he will absolutely be the most overpaid WR in the NFL next season.
The Shaheed contract made zero sense on the day it was signed, and drafting all these players with experience returning kicks makes it make even less sense.

If Shaheed isn't returning kicks I guarantee his contract ends up being one of the 3 worst of the entire NFL off-season.

 

[glenwo2]

^^^^

 

[MORGULON]

Special teams is probably this guys future but you need guys like this. How many games could we attribute winning to a special teams play last season?

 

[glenwo2]