Raiders’ Henderson could make first-year impact

By Anthony Carroll  |   Thursday, June 28, 2007  |  Comments( 28 )

Oakland Raiders
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If there's one job in the NFL not guaranteed to anyone, it's offensive tackle for the Oakland Raiders.

For 22-year-old rookie O-tackle Mario Henderson, that's welcome news.

The former Florida State standout, who was taken 91st overall in 2007 NFL draft, is slated as a backup behind veteran tackles Robert Gallery and Barry Sims. And although both linemen have rather well-known names, neither are sure locks heading into next season. The first step for the pair of shaky starters is to forget a very forgettable 2006 season. After that, they can shift their minds to the upcoming season.

Until then, though, Henderson has plenty to hold onto.

By the end of the year, the late third-rounder could find himself among the Raiders' starters, at one of the harder positions on the field.

The 6-foot-7, 300-pounder appeared in 48 games (15 starts) for the Seminoles. Last season Henderson started all 12 games at left tackle, after spending two years behind former first-round pick Alex Barron (now a St. Louis Ram), who left prior to the 2005 campaign.

It was perhaps this year's East-West shrine game, though, that Henderson began to receive serious NFL consideration. Henderson, who started alongside Northern Illinois' Doug Free in the contest, had an outstanding showing in both practices and the game, in front of over 200 pro scouts.

John Murphy -- a Yahoo! Sports analyst -- in profiling the shrine game rosters, added this side note regarding Henderson: "He carries a backpack with all of his games on DVD so he can watch and evaluate himself on a nightly basis."

Henderson's game-tape-on-the-go, unrelenting attitude may be the reason he finds his way onto the field in '07.

That, and the fact that only Gallery and soon-to-be-eighth-year player Chad Slaughter stand in his way. Combined, the pair of linemen allowed 16 sacks last season in a combined 16 starts.

On the other side, the team's top tackle, Sims, is coming off an abdominal injury that prevented him from starting in nine games last season. The 300-pounder from Utah hadn't missed a start in seven years before last year, and his future at left tackle is an unknown until the season is underway. Sims, in actuality, was ready to return to the field with four games remaining last season, but he was benched in favor of other, younger options.

"I was ready to go," Sims told the Oakland Tribune in December. "They wanted to see the young guy play, so...there's not much I can do about that."

Henderson is now the youngest of the Raiders' tackles by four years, with Gallery and the little-known Mark Wilson nearest at 26. He's also the youngest of the Raiders' 14 current linemen.

If either Sims or Gallery pick up where they left off last season, Henderson may be called upon to step up at either of the tackle slots. Luckily, he's taken advantage of every opportunity he's had in his young career thus far.

As a 375-pound high school freshman, the thought of playing football wasn't even in Henderson's head. Then, the school's head coach suggested he give it a try.

"I was walking to the office and the football coach saw me and he was like, man you're huge, have you ever played football? He told me I should give it a shot and try out. I thought about it and I ended up playing my sophomore year."

Seven years later, Henderson is vying for time in the NFL.

Luckily for Henderson -- and only Henderson -- he's a member of a very shaky offensive line.

This time, another coach may be calling upon the rookie tackle to step up and make some plays.

This time, though, Henderson is six years older, 75 pounds lighter, and, most importantly, on a national platform.

Anthony Carroll, a senior writer for RealFootball365.com, can be contacted at acarroll@realfootball365.com.
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About Anthony Carroll

Anthony Carroll began writing for RealFootball365.com on Sept. 26, 2005, making him one of the longest tenured contributors to the “365” team. As a senior writer, Anthony has taken on the task of delivering original content to the silver and black faithful year round, despite having to deal...
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