Broncos could target CJ Henderson with their top 2020 draft pick

The Denver Broncos could target Florida Gators cornerback CJ Henderson with their top pick in the 2020 NFL Draft despite tackling issues.

Tackling is a ‘non-negotiable’ in Vic Fangio’s defense, so why would the Denver Broncos consider Florida Gators cornerback CJ Henderson — a player who is certainly not known for his run support — with their top pick in the 2020 NFL Draft?

Although Fangio has, in fact, stated that tackling is a non-negotiable for him in his defensive players, he’s also said that with defensive backs, either you’ve got the ability to cover or you don’t.

"“DBs, I think, are DBs. Either you can cover or you can’t. The guys that can cover can fit anybody’s system. D-linemen sometimes are a little different.”Vic Fangio (via Broncos PR, December 30, 2019)"

Of course, everybody’s preference is a guy who can tackle. Broncos fans have been spoiled with the likes of Champ Bailey, Chris Harris Jr., and Aqib Talib, some of the best to do it at the cornerback position not only from a coverage standpoint but as tacklers.

Those guys took pride in their tackling, so for a defensive back who doesn’t exactly exude pride in his tackling on tape? That’s a big red flag — and understandably so — for Broncos Country.

But with CJ Henderson, completely dismissing his candidacy for the 15th overall pick based on his current tackling skill is unwise and borderline reckless, even just from the seat of an armchair general manager.

What Henderson brings to the table are skills that will be coveted by NFL teams, and it might be that the only reason the Broncos don’t take him 15th overall is the fact that he goes much higher (anywhere from 8th-14th) than they are presently picking.

But if he’s on the board when Denver’s turn rolls around at 15, he would be very hard to pass on. Let’s discover exactly why.

Elite man coverage abilities

In every tape you can find of Henderson over the last 2-3 years, he puts on display elite man coverage abilities. Behind Jeffrey Okudah, no player in the 2020 NFL Draft crop was as consistently good in man coverage as CJ Henderson.

Henderson allowed a staggering 20 receptions or less in each of his three seasons at Florida, a stat made even more impressive by the fact that he was battling through a nagging ankle injury in 2019.

What makes ‘elite man coverage abilities’? Well, first and foremost, Henderson can go toe-to-toe with any athlete.

At 6-foot-1, over 200 pounds, Henderson’ athletic profile is as good as you will find at the cornerback position coming out of the college ranks these days.

Elite speed, strength, and explosiveness mean nothing if you don’t translate them to a game, so take a look at some of the tape. Playing in the SEC, Henderson has a handful of games in each of his three seasons against legit future NFL stars, including his 2019 tape against LSU, led by Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow and Biletnikoff Award winner Ja’Marr Chase.

Burrow, Chase, and the Tigers go on to win this game, and Chase gets his even in coverage against Henderson, but this game also gives us examples of what Henderson can do against NFL-level talent and he puts on a unique display in coverage here.

A closer look at the All-22 film with Voch Lombardi indicates something the casual viewer may have missed out on through the course of the game. Henderson’s coverage on Chase was so outstanding that LSU began moving Chase to the slot more frequently than they would otherwise to try and scheme him open.

You don’t have to scheme players open unless they’re struggling to win one-on-one matchups.

Henderson doesn’t win every rep in that game vs. LSU. He shouldn’t necessarily be expected to, either. No prospect is perfect, but this game is the tip of the iceberg in three years worth of dominance in coverage from Henderson.

An average of 20 receptions allowed or less over three seasons? That’s crazy. Quarterbacks simply didn’t want to throw at this guy. Even the touchdown Henderson gives up against Chase and LSU is a tight-window throw and he gets his hand in the throwing lane.

The tackling issue

Henderson is not the quickest to come up in run support, and has missed a number of tackles in his time at Florida.

This is something that cannot be ignored, but is something that can also be coached and instilled.

Just because tackling is not currently a strength of Henderson’s doesn’t mean it can’t become a strength, and we already have evidence that this is a correctable issue.

After watching a handful of games from both the 2019 and 2018 seasons, I would guess that Florida sent Henderson on a cornerback blitz roughly two times per game.

That resulted in four sacks and eight tackles for loss over two seasons. Jeffrey Okduah had one tackle for loss in three seasons, no sacks. Jeff Gladney was often sent on blitzes at TCU and had six tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. Kristian Fulton had two tackles for loss and no sacks.

Those statistics ultimately could mean nothing depending on what you’re trying to prove, but the fact of the matter and the point is that Henderson’s ability to come up in run support can be coached, and he’s put some nice tackles behind the sticks on tape in his three years at Florida.

Context for the Broncos

Why is Henderson a good fit for the Broncos despite his tackling not being a strength in his game right now?

There are many reasons, but the main reason is that Henderson is an elite coverage cornerback. Not only that, but he’s proven over three years to be more productive as a blitzer than any other corner at the top of this class.

His open-field tackling or run support can be coached over time, but only Jeffrey Okudah in the class of 2020 rivals Henderson when it comes to pure coverage dominance.

Because of his ability in coverage, there’s a better-than-good chance Henderson won’t even be there with the 15th overall pick. But because cornerback has become such a prominent need for the Broncos after they decided not to go after a second player in free agency beyond AJ Bouye, Henderson is unquestionably an option with the 15th overall pick.

I’m not as worried about Henderson coming up to tackle Damien Williams as I am making sure someone is preventing Tyreek Hill from running wild and free down the field. This is a guy who has the size, speed, and athletic ability to hang with any receiver, including Hill, and that’s something that John Elway and Vic Fangio should covet regardless of his willingness to stick his nose in a scrum at this point.

His coverage abilities far outweigh his tackling weakness at this particular point in time.