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C.J. Henderson | CB | Florida
Height: 6-1
Weight: 204
Player Profile
Strengths:
What. An. Athlete. That’s the first thing that jumps out at you when watching Henderson and he went to the combine and completely showed out. His 4.39 in the 40-yard dash was downright ridiculous and he plays with that speed on tape as well.
Henderson is the prototypical outside cornerback. He has the size, strength, speed and aggressive mentality to make a living on the outside. He thrived in press coverage at Florida and should carry that success with him to the next level. Press coverage is how he should be primarily utilized going forward.
His length and aggression serve him incredibly well when attacking the ball at the catch point. He’s competitive and always looking to play the ball, not the man. Henderson possesses excellent foot speed as well. Florida used Henderson as a blitzer quite often and the results were excellent. He can really impact the game as a blitzer. He’s able to cover a lot of ground in a hurry.
Henderson’s athletic skill-set combined with his ability to mirror in coverage, length and smooth transitions make him a big-time prospect at the cornerback position.
Weaknesses:
There are some reps where Henderson was overly reliant on his athletic traits. He trusts his speed and ability to recover too much at times. That aggression lead to a few technical lapses in his game, especially with his footwork and hand usage. Henderson is such a good athlete that it often didn’t matter, but it’ll be something to monitor at the next level. His willingness to tackle and support in the run game is nowhere to be found. In fact, he could be one of the worst tacklers in this cornerback class from both an attitude and results aspect. He just looks completely disinterested in the run game altogether. Six interceptions in three years (and zero in 2019). You would like to see more ball production than that.
Does he fit the Titans?
Henderson will likely be gone by the time the Titans come on the clock at 29th overall, but they must be at least mildly interested in a play-maker of his ability. Cornerback will likely be a position of need heading into the draft, and it’s worth noting that the Titans had Henderson in for a pre-draft visit. If you look at the main defensive backs Robinson has brought into Tennessee, they all differ from Henderson in one key area. Malcolm Butler, Adoree Jackson, Logan Ryan, Kevin Byard and Kenny Vaccaro are all tough, feisty and love to tackle.
At the end of the day, a cornerback’s number one job is to cover, and Henderson has every tool to become an exceptional cover man at the next level. For that, it may be worth overlooking his shortcomings as a tackler and in run support. The Titans like to disguise what they’re doing and use their DB’s as blitzers, something that Henderson excels at. It would be interesting to see if Robinson would pull the trigger on him should he still available when they come on the clock.