Jaguars passed on these 3 players to draft CJ Henderson in 2020

No. 1 player the Jaguars could have taken at 9th overall – A.J. Terrell

C.J. Henderson isn’t the worst cornerback drafted in the first round last year. That honor goes to Damon Arnette, who was recently released by the Las Vegas Raiders, after a video of him threatening someone popped up on social media. Even if you didn’t factor in the video, the Ohio State product struggled with injuries in 2020 and hardly saw the field this season.

Then again, saying you pick Henderson instead of Arnette isn’t something to brag about. The truth is that both were bad picks in retrospect. Meanwhile, A.J. Terrell has become a solid starter for the Atlanta Falcons. The 16th overall pick has started 23 games in the last two years and has posted solid numbers.

This season, Terrell has allowed a 47.4 percent completion rate and is giving up 7.8 years per completion. Moreover, he’s logged one interception and has an 82.6 Pro Football Focus overall grade for the year. That’s the kind of production the Jaguars surely wanted from Henderson.

What makes Terrell’s performance even more noteworthy is he’s one of the few bright spots in the Falcons’ secondary. Atlanta’s defense ranks 30th in points allowed and is 29th in receiving touchdowns surrendered.

Terrell is not the kind of player that gets the spotlight often and he won’t likely earn many accolades this season. However, he is someone he’s a player team can lean on, which is what you expect from a first-round selection.