photo by: AP Photo/Michael Conroy

Kansas wide receiver Emmanuel Henderson Jr. (21) runs a drill at the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026.

The defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks made Emmanuel Henderson Jr. the first Kansas wide receiver selected in the NFL Draft since 2010 by picking him in the sixth round at No. 199 overall on Saturday afternoon.

It’s the second straight year in which Seattle has picked a Jayhawk in the sixth round after spending the No. 192 pick on offensive lineman Bryce Cabeldue in 2025.

Henderson was a highly touted prospect at running back out of high school but converted to wide receiver and never found significant playing time outside of special teams during his three years at Alabama.

KU afforded him the opportunity to serve as the top target for quarterback Jalon Daniels during the 2025 season. He caught 45 passes for 766 yards and five touchdowns on the year, with his best performance a 214-yard showing in a loss to Cincinnati on Sept. 27, although his production dwindled somewhat over the course of the year as he became more of a focal point for opposing defenses.

Throughout the season, Henderson consistently proved his worth as a dynamic return man, taking a kick back 94 yards for a touchdown against West Virginia on Sept. 20 and averaging 25.3 yards per return on the year.

In the end, the 6-foot-1, 190-pound native of Hartford, Alabama, earned two separate All-Big 12 honors as a first-team kick returner and third-team wide receiver. He received an invitation to the East-West Shrine Bowl, though he did not play in the game itself, and ran a 4.44-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.

Kerry Meier (fifth round to Atlanta) and Dezmon Briscoe (sixth round to Cincinnati) were the KU wideouts selected the last time a Jayhawk receiver went off the board back in 2010.