On the other side of the ball, I would really love it if the Packers could get in on Hunter Henry.
The first thing to say here is what I've been saying-- there's a strong chance that he never makes it to the open market. The Chargers are not strapped for space. They can definitely pay him if they want to.
That said, there are two wrinkles in this situation. One-- injuries have really limited Henry. He's missed 1, 2, and 4 games in his three season, respectively, plus all of 2018 with a torn ACL. So that complicates things.
Working in the opposite direction-- the Chargers are a joke. They don't really play home games. They also suck. So it's possible that Henry won't be motivated to remain with them, forcing them to either tag him or let him go.
So if by chance he does make it to the market, I'd love to see him play in green and gold, despite the injuries. When healthy, Henry is behind only Kittle and Kelce in my opinion. He's a true Y who offers plus run blocking and can make a major impact in the passing game.
He is the perfect player for Petals' offense. I'd love the chance to roll the dice on him. The injuries are concerning, but the upside is an elite player at a critical position in the offense.
I'm keeping Henry on the top of my list of possibilities. Sternberger has a long way to go to move beyond slot TE. And its not like Henry would play and Sternberger would sit. LaFleur started using more two TE sets as the season wore on. That was partly a function of Vitale being banged up but TE over FB was LaFluer approach in Tennessee as well.
Having Henry would also open up possibilities as to the kind of WR that might (or should we say "will") be drafted. As it stands now, with Sternberger as the #1, to get the kind of first year contribution out of a draftee that's needed, the obvious focus should be on a guy who sits on the physical/route running end of the spectrum rather a perimeter speed guy or some sideline high-point/back shoulder guy.
I keep harping on it, but other than Adams there wasn't a guy on this roster that was a reliable inside route runner. And Adams is reliable inside only because he has a knack for protecting himself and getting to the ground. That's great for a couple routes per game or getting the first down on 3rd. and 6, but gets about zero YAC on those inside catches, which is a good thing in keeping him healthy.
For all the criticism of Graham's play, I don't recall it being observed that his broken tackles were rare. He goes down like a typical WR because that's what he is--an oversized, slow WR who happens to have a big catch radius.
Absent a physical TE who can actually get out into an inside route, particulary from in-line, who can give as well as he gets after the catch, I'd be looking to replicate a guy who's becoming one of my favorite players, Deebo Samuel. He's far from a polished WR at this point, but if you recall him steamrolling Savage I can say that's typical of his game.
Signing a guy like Henry opens up possibilities in picking the "best available" WR from a variety of skill sets rather than focusing a particular complimentary type.
Regardless of how it shakes out, whoever that WR is better have "good route runner" in his scouting reports, a more important factor than some 4.3 time. One thing we know about our detailed and demanding QB is that if a guy does not run the route to the place and in the way the QBs expects, he will not get the ball.
Now, there is that injury history with Henry. Besides the ACL that kept him out all of 2018, he cracked a bone in his knee in week 1 of 2019 and didn't come back until week 6. From then on there were no issues, and he continued to show more career progression. So you could look at him as a second contract guy with that much less mileage.
