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COSTA MESA, Calif. -- Although it took six weeks, Los Angeles Chargers tight end Hunter Henry has found a rhythm as a consistent receiving threat for quarterback Philip Rivers. Chargers coach Anthony Lynn said Henry’s lack of touches through the first quarter of the season was a point of frustration during the team’s 0-4 start. “People can take him away, too,” Lynn said. “Sometimes you have to take what the defense gives you. If they give you Hunter early, we’ll take Hunter early. We got to Hunter when we needed to and he made plays.” Henry was not targeted in two of the first three games and had seven catches for 80 receiving yards in the other game, a Week 2 loss to Miami. In the past three games, Henry has been targeted 18 times, finishing with 10 receptions for 148 yards and two scores.  With Antonio Gates looking to break the NFL’s all-time touchdown receiving record for tight ends, there was a focus was on getting him the ball early in the season. Now that he has the record, Henry has played more snaps than Gates in the last two weeks (100 snaps for Henry, 75 for Gates).
“I felt like I put a lot of work in all of our practices and games, and last year,” Henry said. “I knew it was coming. I knew I had to show up and continue to put up the work.” In Sunday's victory over the Oakland Raiders, the Chargers used three-tight end sets on 16 snaps, which helped define the matchups Rivers wanted for Henry in the passing game. On the winning drive, Rivers twice found Henry for two explosive gains, including a 34-yard pitch-and-catch on a corner route from the Chargers’ own 8-yard line to give them some breathing room. “Those are plays I get excited about in a quarterback-to-pass-catcher relationship,” Rivers said. “Hunter is still young as a player in our time together, and that was kind of a back-shoulder corner route, which just doesn’t happen much. I’ve thrown Gates a handful of those, but I haven’t thrown Hunter one of those ever. “And it happens on the fly in the biggest drive of the game and he sees it, feels it and then goes and gets more with it. So those plays, not only was it big for today [Sunday], those are big plays as you continue to grow with a player.” Look for Henry to be involved in the offense again on Sunday when the Chargers host the Denver Broncos. According to ESPN Stats & Information, offenses have completed 73 percent of their passes to tight ends for three touchdowns and no interceptions against Denver’s defense, which is fourth-worst in the NFL. Last week, New York Giants tight end Evan Engram finished with five catches for 82 yards and a score against the Broncos. “We’ve got a lot of guys on offense that we’re trying to do things and include in that,” Chargers offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt said when asked about Henry’s usage. “Hunter is one of those guys. There’s going to be weeks where he gets some plays, and there are going to be others where he may not get as many touches. “At the end of the game, he made two big catches on that last drive, which was part of the scheme that we felt was a good tactic against those guys. So it was nice to see him make those plays. There’s no question he’s a really good young football player who contributes a lot.”
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