Florida Football: Is CJ Henderson the 2020 NFL Draft’s No. 2 cornerback?

Florida football’s CJ Henderson has been on the rise after the NFL Combine after a very impressive showing. Could he be the draft’s No. 2 cornerback?

I’ve had a differing opinion on Florida defensive back CJ Henderson over the past couple of years. Going into the season last year, I had him as the top cornerback in the draft. He had a very up and down season and he was not as good as he had been in his sophomore year in 2018 and you can argue he did not make as many plays as he did as a freshman in 2017.

Henderson came to Florida as a freshman after being ranked a four-star defensive back in the 2017 recruiting cycle and he immediately started making an impact on the field intercepting four passes and returning two of them for touchdowns, as well as having four pass deflections.

During his sophomore season, he became a more complete defensive back and though his interceptions went down to two, he also had three sacks because he was being used more as a blitzer and being moved all over the field.

As I said earlier, after his fantastic 2018 season, I thought that Henderson was a slam dunk to be the first cornerback taken in the 2020 NFL Draft. He just did not seem to play the same in coverage and although I would have never called him a great tackler, he was abysmal in this area and that was evident from the Gators’ first game against the Miami Hurricanes. Henderson recorded no interceptions this season, but did have 11 pass deflections, and he just did not seem to have the knack for big plays like he did in his first two seasons.

I’m going to examine what I think are Henderson’s biggest strengths and his weaknesses and give him a draft projection.

Strengths

Henderson possesses the size and frame that you would want in an NFL cornerback at 6-foot-1, 200 pounds. He turned in one of the best performances at the NFL combine, running the 40-yard dash in 4.39 seconds, 20 reps on the bench press and a 37.5-inch vertical leap. This has caused Henderson to be in the discussion to be the second corner taken in the draft.

The Florida star is a long, athletic corner and really played his best in man coverage. He has quick hips and is smooth in his transitions in man coverage and that is key when you are facing faster and quicker receivers. His speed and length will allow Henderson to cover lot of ground on any receiver and is one of the reasons Henderson had 20 pass deflections.

With Henderson’s speed, I think it will make him an effective blitzer at the next level.

Weaknesses

One of the biggest knocks on Henderson that I have is his poor tackling. To be a No. 1 cornerback in the NFL, Henderson can’t be a complete liability in that area because it will make a target for opposing offense in the run game and in the screen game. He also relies on his speed and athleticism a little too much and that can cause him to gamble and get beaten for some big plays. He does not have terrible technique but if you gamble too much in the NFL, you can get beat.

Draft Expectation

Because of his athletic traits, Henderson will be a top 20 pick. I think that he has a high ceiling and is more than worthy of being selected there, but that is not to say that Henderson is not a slightly risky prospect. I think that there are several teams in the top 20 that will be interested in Henderson such as the Jaguars, Raiders, Broncos, 49ers and Falcons.

Projection: Top 20 pick