Chad Henne: No longer a top backup?

Chad Henne’s time with the Jacksonville jaguars has been a bit of a roller coaster. Backup to starter, starter to mentor, it’s been a whirlwind of a couple of years and through it all he has been professional and approached the game as expected of pro.

So, where does he stack up against his fellow backups? Once the lowest ranked starter in the league, Henne’s stock tends to rise as a backup. In fact, just over a month ago he was considered in the top 10 by Fox Sports. Yet that didn’t stop Marc Sessler at NFL.com from giving him a bottom half grade at number 17 overall in his backup QB rankings.

While going at length to explain many other selections in his backup QB rankings, Sessler has just one line for Henne,”Henne’s days as a starter are over barring disaster in Jacksonville.” Honestly, that’s a good thing for the Jaguars (and great news for Blake Bortles). If the Jags can keep their backup off the field, then things are likely going right and an injury to Bortles hasn’t occurred.

I feel this analysis Chad Henne is a little weak. While guys like Colt McCoy get more attention, Henne is suddenly relegated to the bottom half of the rankings purely because he might not see the field? In a world where Zach Mettenberger (number five) ranks higher than Chad Henne, I suppose anything is possible.

The Jags haven’t had a solid QB situation for a few years, but Henne does provide some insurance overall. He has a poor completion percentage and an overall losing record as a starter, but he is competent and he can still provide some off-field support as well. This isn’t to say we should all be in love with the Jags backup, but putting him below guys like Tarvaris Jackson, Ryan Mallett, and Christian Ponder just feels wrong.

Next: Is Doug Marrone looking to replace Gus Bradley?

More from Black and Teal

Home/Jacksonville Jaguars News