Steelers' recent pre-draft visit proves that Pittsburgh could be headed down the Najee Harris road all over again

Henderson might not be the size of Najee Harris, Le'Veon Bell, or James Conner, but he's brawny at 5-10 and over 200 pounds, and he has some elite athletic traits...

Strengths

• Contact Balance: Henderson is a powerful back. Arm tackles don't work on him, as he just runs through them with relative ease. He's averaged nearly 4.0 YPC after contact at Ohio State.
• Vision: When Henderson hits the hole, he knows where to go with the football. He sets his blockers up well with patience in the open field and takes proper angles to maximize his impact.
• Burst: Long speed is somewhat inconsistent for Henderson, but he knows how to shoot a gap to get chunks of yards.
• Pass blocking: Henderson has no problem getting his hands dirty. He is a thumper as a pass protector and might be the best one in the class.
  - Tyler Forness, A to Z Sports NFL Draft

But up until the last few weeks, Henderson was widely thought of as a day two pick. That may no longer be the case, meaning if the Steelers want Henderson, they will have to potentially reach for him at 21st overall, mimicking what they did a few years back with Najee Harris when they selected him 21st overall in 2021. 

Weaknesses

• Injury History: Henderson has continuously had injuries he's dealt with. He missed five games in 2022 with a broken bone in his foot and time in 2023 with an undisclosed injury. Will his injury history prevent him from being a top back?
• Breakaway Speed: Henderson is a bigger back with some home run ability. As a true freshman, he displayed a lot of long runs with 34 of 10+ and 15 of 15+ yards. Those have improved overall with his decreased workload, but he shows some tendency to get caught down the field by defensive backs. This is less of a weakness and more of an inconsistency.
• Pass Catching: Henderson has not had much of an opportunity to work as a receiver and when he does, there isn't much of a diverse route tree to work with. He will have some growing pains in that department at the next level, but there is talent to work with, including his background at wide receiver in high school.
  - Forness, A to Z Sports 

The truth is, if Shedeur Sanders is off the board, and the Steelers don't like the options at DT or WR, they will pivot to the RB position, and that could start with Henderson.