Trading All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey in 2019 was a clear mistake, but the Jacksonville Jaguars didn't make things much better when they drafted C.J. Henderson ninth overall the following year. The former Florida Gator suited up a measly 10 games for the Jags and was gone by 2021. What makes the selection look even worse was that there were several better prospects still available at the time. Matt Holder took a look at one of them.
Holder went over every NFL team's draft mistake in the past five years and chose Henderson for the Jags, pointing out that the Florida native was one of two questionable picks the Jags made in 2020.
"To be honest, either of the Jaguars' 2020 first-round picks could fit here, as K'Lavon Chaisson didn't pan out either," Holder wrote. "However, Henderson was the biggest bust after playing just in 10 games for the Jaguars before getting traded to the Carolina Panthers in September of his second NFL season."
Later, Holder suggests cornerback AJ Terrell as a do-over pick.
"Tristan Wirfs was also considered here and is another strong option, but we'll stick with Jacksonville setting out to improve its secondary here. Terrell has become the best cornerback taken in the first round of the 2020 draft, earning second-team All-Pro honors and a lucrative contract extension from the Falcons," Holder said.
Terrell makes sense as cornerback was Jacksonville's biggest need at the time. Since going 16th overall to the Atlanta Falcons, he's established himself as one of their leaders in their secondary. Moreover, he popped up at No. 24 in Pro Football Focus' latest ranking. On the other hand, Tristan Wirfs would've been a great alternative.
Left tackle wasn't as big a need in 2020, but it wasn't a strength either. Cam Robinson had been inconsistent at that point of his career and was entering a contract year. He eventually got the franchise tag in 2021 and stayed in Jacksonville until 2024. However, drafting Wirfs would've immediately made him expendable. In five seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the former Iowa Hawkeye has earned four Pro Bowl selections and two First-Team All-Pro designations.
Either way, the Jaguars had several better options than Henderson, and nearly all of them would've been an upgrade.
AJ Terrell and Tristan Wirfs would've been an upgrade over CJ Henderson for the Jaguars
CJ Henderson flashed as a rookie, but a groin injury cut his season short. He then underwent labrum surgery early in 2021 and missed a good chunk of training camp for a handful of reasons. Although he started the first two games for the Jacskonville Jaguars that year, he was shipped to the Carolina Panthers after Week 3. He went on to play a couple seasons for them, but hasn't suited up for a game since 2023.
To add insult to injury, drafting Henderson was one of many dreadful decisions the Jags made in 2020. The same year, they traded Calais Campbell and Yannick Ngakoue. They also released running back Leonard Fournette. Not surprisingly, then-general manager Dave Caldwell was given the boot. Of course, his replacement, Trent Baalke, wasn't much better, but that's a topic of discussion for another time.
Sure, there's no guarantee that the Jags would've been much better if they had taken AJ Terrell or Tristan Wirfs, but they would've been much worse. Their respective clubs aren't surely complaining about them, so there's that.