The Jacksonville Jaguars used the first round of the NFL draft to land replacements for two of their best – and most disgruntled – defenders.
The Jaguars chose speedy Florida cornerback CJ Henderson with the ninth pick and versatile LSU pass-rusher K’Lavon Chaisson with the 20th selection. Henderson is expected to fill a void created when the Jaguars traded Jalen Ramsey to the Los Angeles Rams last October, and Chaisson could allow Jacksonville to trade defensive end Yannick Ngakoue.
Henderson and Chaisson make it four consecutive years that Jacksonville used its top two picks on players from the powerhouse Southeastern Conference, joining Leonard Fournette/Cam Robinson (2017), Taven Bryan/DJ Chark (2018) and Josh Allen/Jawaan Taylor (2019).
Henderson got a few surprise visitors during his introductory Zoom call with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Florida coach Dan Mullen and his family crashed the party.
”I think that might be the best pick the Jags have made in a long, long, long time,” Mullen said. ”I know they are going to be thrilled.”
Henderson fills arguably Jacksonville’s biggest need. General manager Dave Caldwell traded Ramsey last season and fellow cornerback A.J. Bouye last month. The team tried to sign Cincinnati cornerback Darqueze Dennard in free agency, but he failed his physical and prompted the sides to part ways.
Those moves left the Jags with former undrafted free agent Tre Herndon and journeyman Rashaan Melvin as the team’s projected starters at the position.
General manager Dave Caldwell believes Henderson has a chance to be as good as, maybe even better than, Ohio State’s Jeff Okudah. Detroit selected Okudah with the third overall pick.
Mullen said Henderson has room to grow.
”He’s a guy that has a competitive nature and wants to be the absolute best of the best,” Mullen said. ”He’s going to constantly work on every little bit of that technique, the ability and just getting more comfortable playing the ball in the air. Not just breaking up pass routes, but making plays on the ball and turning those into interceptions and even bigger, more explosive plays.”
The Jaguars also don’t expect the headlines and headaches that Ramsey provided for three-plus years.
”He’s more of a talker, trying to get in guys’ heads,” Henderson said. ”I’m very different. I play my style of game.”
Said Mullen: ”He’s not an in-your-face guy. He’s quiet and reserved. … He’s a pro. He plays football and goes home.”
Henderson was a three-year starter at Florida and led the team with 11 pass breakups last season despite three several games with an ankle injury. He also skipped the team’s bowl game to prepare for the draft.
”He’s the best corner I’ve ever coached, college or pro,” Gators defensive coordinator Todd Grantham said of Henderson.
Chaisson returned from a 2018 knee injury and was one of LSU’s top defenders last season. He had a team-high 13 1/2 tackles for loss, including 6 1/2 sacks.
He could make it easier for Jacksonville to trade Ngakoue, who has been vocal about his displeasure with the franchise since the end of last season. The Jaguars placed the franchise tag on Ngakoue last month, a move that would guarantee him about $18 million next season. But Ngakoue has refused to sign the tender in hopes of forcing a trade.
He called out team executive and minority owner Tony Khan, the son of majority owner Shad Khan, on Twitter earlier this week.
The Jaguars still have numerous needs, including at receiver. They released oft-injured wideout Marqise Lee earlier this week to create nearly $5 million in cap space. The move left them with budding standout DJ Chark and three other receivers entering the final year of their contracts: Chris Conley, Dede Westbrook and Keelan Cole.
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