Hindsight is 20\/20.<\/p>\n
The Denver Broncos<\/a> used a third-round pick to select Louisiana Tech wide receiver Carlos Henderson in the 2017 NFL draft, and they were not the only team targeting him in that round.<\/p>\n The Tampa Bay Buccaneers<\/a> also liked what they saw from Henderson in the pre-draft process, but they picked two spots below Denver. After the Broncos<\/a> landed Henderson, Tampa had to settle for … Chris Godwin.<\/p>\n “Well, I’ll tell ya \u2014 when we drafted Chris Godwin, we had another receiver that we were gonna take, and he went almost right before us,” Bucs<\/a> general manager Jason Licht said during a recent interview on the Green Light with Chris Long<\/a> podcast (via Bucs Wire<\/a>). “And we were like, ‘Well, I guess we’ll take Godwin.'”<\/p>\n Godwin turned out to be quite a consolation prize.<\/p>\n The 29-year-old receiver has a Super Bowl win, an All-Pro selection and a Pro Bowl nod on his resume alongside 7,266 career receiving yards and 39 touchdowns.<\/p>\n The receiver the Broncos picked over Godwin — Henderson — only lasted one season in Denver.<\/p>\n “That guy lasted a year in the league,” Licht said, which was only a small exaggeration.<\/p>\n Henderson’s rookie season was hindered by a torn ligament in his thumb. The following summer, he did not report<\/a> to training camp while dealing with “personal reasons<\/a>.” Shortly thereafter, he received a one-game suspension<\/a> from the NFL for violating the league’s substance abuse policy.<\/p>\n After failing to make the Broncos’ 53-man roster, Henderson was initially placed on the practice squad, only to be released<\/a> less than two weeks later. He then had a brief stint with the now-named Washington Commanders, followed by a spring season in the CFL with the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 2019.<\/p>\n He attempted a football comeback with the then-USFL’s Birmingham Stallions in 2022, but was cut just five days after signing. So Denver’s mistake turned out to be a big plus for Tampa, even if Licht didn’t realize it at the time. You’re welcome, Bucs.<\/p>\n