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Week 1 of the National Football League’s 2020 schedule came to a successful conclusion after two Monday Night Football games wrapped up the weekend schedule. With all of the stats and highlights now officially in the books, the media has turned its attention to the best that the pro league had to offer.
PFF offered its assessment of the best players from the NFL’s opening games on Monday, with many familiar names mentioned. However, one particular name stands out to Gators fans — Jacksonville Jaguars rookie cornerback CJ Henderson, who had a heck of a professional debut on Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts.
Former Florida Gators in the NFL 2020: Week 1
Even more notable is the fact that Henderson was the only rookie selected to PFF’s team of the week. Disappointingly, he was not joined by former Gators defensive back Janoris Jenkins, who had eight solo tackles with an assist and a pass defended to go along with his pick-six for the New Orleans Saints, did not get a mention.
Here is what PFF had to say about Henderson.
With the impact of COVID-19 on the offseason and the cancellation of preseason games, expectations for rookies — regardless of position — were relatively low. For cornerbacks specifically, no one was really expected to have a great game right away. Even in a normal year, teams can’t really rely on rookies starting on the outside to be difference-makers right away. Yesterday, however, we saw two defy those odds and put together impressive performances.
Jacksonville Jaguars rookie C.J. Henderson being one of the highest-graded outside corners of Week 1 is even a bigger surprise, given how his 2019 at Florida fared. The year before that, Henderson legitimately locked down his side of the field, allowing just 18 catches in 13 games. In 2019, Henderson didn’t play horribly, but he had some concerning reps on tape — he gave up five catches that resulted in a 40-plus-yard gain, which accounted for 233 of his 389 yards allowed on the year.
Injury could have influenced that to a certain degree, but with that in mind, it seemed like there might be a learning curve to at least start the year. But that clearly wasn’t the case. When lined up on the outside yesterday against Indianapolis (34 cover snaps), Henderson allowed a 25.5 passer rating on targets thrown his way, recording an interception and four forced incompletions. He’s a remarkable athlete with elite-level man-coverage traits, and he put that on display yesterday.
Below is PFF’s full Week 1 team of the week selections.
PFF TEAM OF THE WEEK
Offense:
QB: Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers
RB: Ezekiel Elliott, Dallas Cowboys
WR: Adam Thielen, Minnesota Vikings
WR: Calvin Ridley, Atlanta Falcons
TE: Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens
FLEX: Anthony Miller, Chicago Bears
T: Andrew Whitworth, Los Angeles Rams
G: Wyatt Teller, Cleveland Browns
C: Corey Linsley, Green Bay Packers
G: Shaq Mason, New England Patriots
T: Trent Williams, San Francisco 49ers
Defense:
DI: Aaron Donald, Los Angeles Rams
DI: Larry Ogunjobi, Cleveland Browns
EDGE: Josh Sweat, Philadelphia Eagles
EDGE: T.J. Watt, Pittsburgh Steelers
LB: Bobby Wagner, Seattle Seahawks
LB: Dre Greenlaw, San Francisco 49ers
CB: Fabian Moreau, Washington Football Team
CB: CJ Henderson, Jacksonville Jaguars
S: Jessie Bates III, Cincinnati Bengals
S: Jordan Poyer, Buffalo Bills
FLEX: Jamal Adams, Seattle Seahawks
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