Jacksonville Jaguars may end up keeping CJ Henderson

If the Jacksonville Jaguars decided to shop CJ Henderson, they would surely have a few suitors. The New Orleans Saints could be interested, and both the New York Jets and the Dallas Cowboys could use his services. On the other hand, the Jags may decide that the best course of action is to keep the ninth overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. Chris Roling of Bleacher Report seems to agree.

Roling finds it “odd” that the Jaguars would trade Henderson after just one year. He notes that the Florida product allowed four scores and gave up 33 receptions on 51 targets last season. However, he points out that the cornerback “became steadier the more he got on the field”. Moreover, he believes “his upside as an elite man-to-man corner on the boundary is still huge”. Ultimately, Roling thinks the Jaguars shouldn’t shop Henderson.

"It doesn’t make much sense that the Jaguars, if not new head coach Urban Meyer, would look to trade Henderson to the highest bidder, even after paying up big for Shaquill Griffin in free agency.In fact, it feels like things should go in the other direction, with Griffin the veteran mentor to a prospect with top-10 positional potential on a team still mired in one of the league’s most significant rebuilds.It’s hard to see what the Jaguars would gain in this sort of trade flirtation outside just getting a valuation on their most notable asset."

It doesn’t look like the Jacksonville Jaguars will trade CJ Henderson.

Henderson certainly had a few rough games in his rookie campaign. But he also showed flashes and allowed less than 50 yards in four of the eight games he played. Also, he was a top 10 pick last year, so teams that had him high on their draft boards would surely want to kick the tires on him. In particular, the New York Jets could put together some enticing trade packages for the second-year cornerback. However, it doesn’t look like the Jaguars are ready to give up on him just yet.

Head coach Urban Meyer spoke to the media after Day 13 of training camp and noted things haven’t been easy for Henderson, via John Oehser of the team’s official website.

"I see a guy fighting through stuff right now and the stuff is a lot. He had to get ready for training camp, [then] boom…COVID. Last year, [his] rookie year started off strong and then fought with injuries, so there’s a lot to this."

It’s true that Henderson hasn’t had an optimal offseason. He underwent labrum surgery earlier this year and missed several days of training camp after being placed on the COVID-19/Reserve list at the end of July. Nevertheless, the former Gator is making strides and has partaken in three consecutive practices. Assistant head coach Charlie Strong recently had a sitdown with the local media and said Henderson can make the Jaguars a better football team. He added the sophomore cornerback wants to play and he is going to do everything he can to get back.

Henderson still has time to catch up. While he won’t be handed a starting job, he has the talent to get back on track. And based on the comments by both Meyer and Strong, it looks like the Jacksonville Jaguars will give him the chance to make up for the time he lost earlier in training camp.