Tag: Matt Henningsen

Broncos offseason roster: No. 91, DL Matt Henningsen

After serving as a rotational defensive lineman last year, Matt Henningsen could compete for a starting spot this summer.

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Broncos Wire’s 90-man offseason roster series continues today with a look at second-year defensive lineman Matt Henningsen, No. 91.

Before the Broncos: Henningsen (6-3, 291 pounds) was a walk-on at Wisconsin and won a starting job right away. In four seasons (37 games) with the Badgers, Henningsen totaled 92 tackles (13.5 behind the line), 8.5 sacks, four pass breakups, two fumble recoveries and two defensive touchdowns. He was a first-team CoSIDA Academic All-America in 2020.

Broncos tenure: Denver picked Henningsen in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL draft and he went on to play in all 17 games as a rookie, recording 21 tackles (two behind the line), one quarterback hit and one sack. He played 229 snaps on defense last year, fifth-most on the defensive line.

Chance to make the 53-man roster: Given his number of snaps last year, Henningsen seems very likely to make the team this summer and he could easily jump into one of the top four spots in the defensive line rotation. Following the departures of Dre’Mont Jones and DeShawn Williams this offseason, Henningsen might even have an opportunity to win a starting job at training camp.

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Broncos’ updated defensive line depth chart after the NFL draft

The Broncos could use another veteran defensive end to shore up their defensive line depth chart.

DE NT DE
Zach Allen D.J. Jones Matt Henningsen
Eyioma Uwazurike Mike Purcell Jonathan Harris
Elijah Garcia PJ Mustipher Jordan Jackson
Sione Asi Haggai Ndubuisi

After not selecting any defensive linemen in the NFL draft, the Denver Broncos’ defensive end depth chart has a few question marks as the team prepares for the start of organized team activities this month.

Dre’mont Jones left the club in free agency and the Broncos replaced him with Zach Allen, but Denver does not have an obvious replacement for DeShawn Williams, a 15-game starting last year who also left during free agency this spring.

Unless the Broncos are planning to have D.J. Jones play as a defensive end with Mike Purcell starting at nose tackle, the DE spot across from Allen could be a weak spot going into the 2023 season.

Right now, Henningsen seems to be the favorite for the job given that he played in all 17 games last season (Uwazurike was only active for eight games in 2022). Harris could also be a sleeper option to watch.

Denver might consider signing a veteran defensive lineman before training camp to shore up the team’s d-line depth this summer.

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Grading the Broncos’ 2022 draft class one year later

Do you agree with our early grade for the Broncos’ 2022 draft class?

As the 2023 NFL draft looms on the horizon, Broncos Wire is taking a look back at the Denver Broncos’ 2022 draft class. Who made a difference? Who do the Broncos need to see more from going forward?

Broncos found talent at last year’s East-West Shrine Bowl

The Broncos drafted three players who appeared in last year’s East-West Shrine Bowl.

The East-West Shrine Bowl is not college football’s biggest all-star game, but talent can be found in Las Vegas. Just ask the San Francisco 49ers, who selected quarterback Brock Purdy with the final pick in the 2022 NFL draft after he helped the West defeat the East 25-24 in last year’s Shrine Bowl.

The Denver Broncos also came away from last year’s draft with three players who played in the Shrine Bowl — two defensive linemen and one offensive lineman.

The Broncos used a fourth-round pick to select Iowa State DL Eyioma Uwazurike (East), a fifth-round pick to select Washington OL Luke Wattenberg (West) and a seventh-round pick to select Wisconsin DL Matt Henningsen (East) last April.

The 2021 East-West Shrine Bowl was canceled because of COVID-19, but Denver added five players from the 2020 edition: DL McTelvin Agim, OLB Derrek Tuszka, RB LeVante Bellamy, CB Parnell Motley and OL Darrin Paulo.

The Broncos will now look to find more talent at this year’s all-star game. The East-West Shrine Bowl will be nationally televised at 6:30 p.m. MT on NFL Network on Thursday evening.

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Broncos DL Matt Henningsen ‘doing everything right’

“He’s a really smart player, and he’s put himself in the right positions,” Nathaniel Hackett said of rookie DL Matt Henningsen.

Denver Broncos defensive lineman Matt Henningsen has been progressing “very good” this offseason, coach Nathaniel Hackett said Wednesday.

The rookie out of Wisconsin got grief from the team’s coaching staff for not recording a sack in their preseason opener last week, but overall, he’s had a good summer.

“He just has to take advantage of some of his opportunities,” Hackett said. “We have been giving him a hard time for that because he had some great opportunities in the game to get a couple sacks. He’s doing everything right. He’s a really smart player, and he’s put himself in the right positions. Now he’s just going to have to be able to finish it to take it to that next level.”

Henningsen’s listed as the third-string nose tackle on the team’s depth chart behind starter D.J. Jones and veteran Mike Purcell. Unless the Broncos decided to trade or cut Purcell, it’s going to be hard for Henningsen to make the 53-man roster as a rookie, even if he does play well in preseason.

If he doesn’t end up on the active roster, Henningsen will be a top candidate for Denver’s practice squad, bu he’ll aim to prove over the next two weeks that he deserves a spot on the 53-man roster.

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Wisconsin football’s sack leaders from 2021

Wisconsin football’s top 10 leaders in sacks from 2021

The 2021 season for Wisconsin football was defined by a phenomenal defense based around suffocating the run game and getting after the quarterback.

Related: Wisconsin football’s tackle leaders from 2021

Wisconsin had arguably the best pass rush in the country last season because of a great team effort and an emphasis at every position to sack the quarterback. In fact, two Badgers finished in the top five in the Big Ten last season in sacks.

Although the Badgers will be losing the critical pieces of linebackers Leo Chenal and Jack Sanborn this season, they will be returning six of their top 10 sack leaders from last year.

Below are Wisconsin football’s top 10 leaders in sacks from 2021:

LOOK: Former Badgers in their new NFL numbers and uniforms

An early look at Badgers drafted in the 2022 NFL draft in their new NFL numbers and uniforms:

Over the last few weeks, several former Wisconsin Badgers have been getting comfortable with their new teams after being drafted in the 2022 NFL draft.

Although none of them have taken the field in their new uniforms, Wisconsin’s social media team took the time to photoshop the drafted players into their new threads with their new numbers.

It looks like every drafted Badger will be staying with their collegiate number, other than Dallas Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson who switched to No. 86 from No. 84. The Madison, Wis., native likely made the switch because No. 84 is currently held by Cowboys veteran TE Sean McKeon.

It is really cool to get an early look at these former Badgers in their new NFL uniforms, and it makes me excited to see what they can do on the field next season.

Broncos signing DL Matt Henningsen to 4-year contract

The Broncos are signing DL Matt Henningsen to four-year contract worth roughly $3.85 million.

The Denver Broncos have agreed to terms on a four-year contract with rookie defensive lineman Matt Henningsen, The Denver Post‘s Ryan O’Halloran first reported Wednesday. Henningsen will now be signed through the 2025 season. He will earn $3,850,808 over the next four years, according to OverTheCap.com, an average of $962,702 per season.

Henningsen was selected by the Broncos in the sixth round of the NFL draft out of Wisconsin. He totaled 92 tackles (13.5 behind the line of scrimmage), 8.5 sacks, four pass breakups, two fumble recoveries and two defensive touchdowns in four years (37 games) with the Badgers.

As a late-round pick, Henningsen will face an uphill battle to make Denver’s 53-man roster, but he’ll certainly have a shot to earn a rotational role on the defensive line.

The top candidates to start on the defensive line this season are Dre’Mont Jones, D.J. Jones and DeShawn Williams. The list of players behind that trio fighting for a spot includes Mike Purcell, fourth-round pick Eyioma Uwazurike, Henningsen, McTelvin Agim, Jonathan Harris and Marquiss Spencer, among others.

Henningsen will have to impress this summer to win a spot on the active roster. Otherwise, he’d be a strong candidate for the practice squad.

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Broncos announce jersey numbers for 2022 draft class

Broncos defensive lineman Eyioma Uwazurike will wear No. 96, previously work by Shelby Harris in Denver.

Ahead of rookie minicamp this weekend, the Denver Broncos announced jersey numbers for their 2022 NFL draft class. Here’s the list, courtesy of the team’s official website:

OLB Nik Bonitto: No. 42

TE Greg Dulcich: No. 80

CB Damarri Mathis: No. 27

DE Eyioma Uwazurike: No. 96

S Delarrin Turner-Yell: No. 32

WR Montrell Washington: No. 12

C Luke Wattenberg: No. 60

DE Matt Henningsen: No. 91

CB Faion Hicks: No. 29

Uwazurike choosing to wear No. 96 is fitting given that he will be among the candidates to replace Shelby Harris, who wore No. 96 with the Broncos from 2017-2021. Harris was traded to the Seattle Seahawks as part of the trade for quarterback Russell Wilson earlier this offseason.

Denver is expected to sign 13 more undrafted rookie free agents, but the team will have to make some corresponding moves to make room for the UDFAs on the 90-man offseason roster. Those 13 signings will likely become official soon, followed by number announcements for those additional rookies.

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Playing for Broncos is ‘a dream come true’ for DL Matt Henningsen

Matt Henningsen already knows what it feels like to wear a Broncos jersey!

The Denver Broncos used their sixth-round pick in the 2022 NFL draft on Saturday to select Wisconsin defensive lineman Matt Henningsen.

In a conference call with reporters after the pick, Henningsen said it was a “dream come true” to play for Denver. After that call, he changed his profile picture on Twitter to display a throwback photo of him wearing a Champ Bailey jersey as a kid.

It’s unclear if Henningsen grew up a Broncos fan or “just” a Bailey fan, but either way it’s pretty cool. The defensive lineman will undoubtedly be asked about that during his next media availability.

After trading away Shelby Harris, Denver needed more depth on the defensive line and they found it during the draft with Iowa State’s Eyioma Uwazurike and Henningsen.

Henningsen will likely compete for rotational playing time initially but he’ll get an opportunity to win a bigger role down the road.

“I’m super excited to be a part of the organization,” he said.

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