Jacksonville Jaguars come to terms with rookie C.J. Henderson
By David Levin
The Jacksonville Jaguars have their top draft pick, cornerback C.J. Henderson, under contract, and part of the organization prior to the start of training camp.
The Jacksonville Jaguars have only seven of their 12 draft picks under contract, but the one that is the most important to the success of the secondary in 2020 is officially signed with the organization.
The Jaguars announced their first pick in the first round, cornerback C.J. Henderson put pen to paper on Thursday afternoon and is officially a part of the franchise. The college star who played ball at the University of Florida is expected to come in and help a secondary that is clearly going through a transformation of its own this coming season.
"Per John Oehser of Jaguars.com, “Henderson was named second-team All-SEC as a sophomore, starting all 13 games with 38 tackles, five for loss, three sacks, two interceptions, and two forced fumbles. He started five games with 11 appearances in 2017 and earned freshman All-SEC honors; he registered 22 tackles and four interceptions, two of which he returned for touchdowns.”"
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The Jaguars are hoping the intangibles Henderson showed playing against some of the top talents in the country in the SEC will help in playing against the best wide receivers in the NFL this season. The Jacksonville Jaguars will face top pass catchers in the AFC South alone in A.J. Brown from Tennessee and T.Y. Hilton from Indianapolis.
The Jaguars’ defense also must face Ryan Tannehill, Deshaun Watson, and Phillip Rivers twice each in divisional matchups. The Jaguars will possibly face three of the four rookie quarterbacks taken in the first round of the Draft in Tua Tagovailoa of Miami, Justin Herbert of the Los Angeles Chargers, and Joe Burrow in Cincinnati.
Henderson’s stock rose after the Scouting Combine where he wowed NFL executives with his speed and agility. He was the second cornerback taken behind Jeffrey Okudah of Ohio State and he figures to be the team’s No. 1 cornerback now that both A.J. Bouye and Jalen Ramsey have been traded within a year’s time from the organization.
The Jaguars drafted four defensive backs in April, three in addition to Henderson. Cornerback Josiah Scott was taken in the fourth round out of Michigan State. Daniel Thomas, a safety out of Auburn, was taken in the fifth round. Chris Claybrooks was the team’s last pick in the seventh round out of Memphis. None of these players have come to terms yet.
The Jacksonville Jaguars second first-round pick, linebacker K’Lavon Chaisson, has yet to reach an agreement with the team.