Erin Henderson Scouting Report

Linebacker Erin Henderson managed to muster together a great junior campaign despite battling with injuries. The two-time All-ACC honoree led the Terrapins with 133 tackles (11 for loss) and four fumble recoveries. Henderson has great size and speed and should be one of the top linebackers on most draft boards. He is quite instinctive and will always be around the ball and deliver some big time hits.

His injuries are the biggest concern, including a torn ACL suffered a couple years back. Henderson does not have the best cover skills around and would prefer to go after the ball, but he has enough speed and skills to develop his coverage ability if necessary. Both of those concerns are reaching for problems. Henderson only missed one game last year and remained extremely productive despite the injuries. He is a tough player and will not allow any minor injuries to get in his way.

Henderson should be a late first day selection. He is not as physically gifted as some of the other linebackers, but he is no slouch either. His superior instincts will have many teams who are looking for a linebacker fighting over his services in the second round of the draft.

2/28 Update: Erin Henderson did what he could to show off his instincts at the Combine, but he put up some decent numbers across the board as well. He did not do anything to drop his status below the second round and everybody has to like his ball hawking ability that can only be seen on game tapes.

3/21 Update: Like fellow Terrapin Dre Moore, Erin Henderson let his Combine numbers do the talking during Pro Day, but he did take part in position drills. Henderson has done nothing to change his status as a probable second round selection, but players like Cliff Avril of Purdue, Marcus Howard of Georgia, Jerod Mayo of Tennessee and Tavares Gooden of Miami have seen their stocks rise as of late and that could slip Henderson down into the early portions of the second day of the NFL Draft.