Jaguars Select C.J. Henderson No. 9 Overall In First Round of 2020 Draft

The Jacksonville Jaguars have selected former Florida Gators corner CJ Henderson in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft

The Jacksonville Jaguars have drafted CJ Henderson No. 9 overall in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft. He is the Jaguars first pick so far in this year's draft.

The 6-foot-1, 204-pound Henderson is a corner out of Florida. He was the only underclassmen to leave Gainesville early but did so after finishing his career with 92 tackles (65 solo), seven for loss, six interceptions, 22 pass breakups and four sacks.

At the Combine this February, Henderson tied for second amongst defensive backs in the 40-yard dash with a 4.39 and finished in the Top 10 or Top 5 of every other drill: 20 reps on the bench press, 37.5 inches in the vertical leap, 127 inches in the broad jump.

He will look to fill a hole left open by Jalen Ramsey—the 2016 Jags first-rounder—who was traded to the Los Angeles Rams in Week 6 of the 2019 season and by A.J. Bouye, who was traded to the Denver Bronco’s this past March.

General manager Dave Caldwell and team signed Rashaan Melvin in free agency, bringing the corner room Tre Herndon, D.J. Hayden, Parry Nickerson, Brandon Watson and Melvin, before now adding Henderson.

While at Florida, Henderson was an impact cover corner from day one, notching pick six’s in his first two games as a freshman. He went on to start in five games that first year. His sophomore year under new defensive coordinator Todd Grantham, Henderson was used in corner blitz packages, adding an aggressive nature to his already smothering game. As a junior, an often knock was that he let up on tackling, preferring to fight with his hands then play off. Yet he still left as one of the best to play the game with NFL Media Daniel Jeremiah describing Henderson as, “just really explosive. He can play press. He can play off. He's real loose and fluid. He shows the ability to play the ball down the field.”

Henderson’s college position coach Torrian Gray, who coached the same position in the NFL for four seasons, often referred to Henderson as the best corner he’s every coached.

"It's unbelievable how talented he is, but really how coachable he is, and how he has tried to grasp the stuff that you are telling him. It doesn't take a lot of repeat reps, I've just been so impressed by him. Obviously he has God-given physical skill, but the mental game, and seeing things and taking things, has really impressed me.”

Caldwell and the Jaguars are back on the board at No. 20.