Jaguars select CB CJ Henderson in first round NFL draft

Florida cornerback CJ Henderson was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft.

The Jacksonville Jaguars selected Florida cornerback CJ Henderson with the ninth overall pick in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft on Thursday evening.

Henderson (6-1, 204 pounds) ran a 40-yard dash in 4.39 seconds and bench-pressed 225 pounds 20 times at the combine earlier this offseason. NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein has compared Henderson to Carlos Rogers, who was a first-round pick in the 2005 NFL Draft.

He’s willing and capable in run support but needs better control as an open-field tackler,” Zierlein wrote of Henderson before the draft. “Henderson is a fluid cornerback with ball skills and burst and has CB1 ability as a first-rounder.”

During his three seasons with the Gators, Henderson totaled 93 tackles, four sacks, six interceptions, 20 pass breakups and two forced fumbles. He returned two interceptions for touchdowns as a freshman in 2017.

Henderson was the second-best cornerback in this year’s class, according to Luke Easterling’s rankings for Draft Wire. Ohio State’s Jeff Okudah was the only CB that Draft Wire had ranked higher than Henderson.

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