The 2020 NFL Draft takes place April 23-25 this year, emanating LIVE from everywhere ’cause it’s basically going to be one big Zoom meeting. As it stands, the Tennessee Titans have one first round draft pick. General manager Jon Robinson and head coach Mike Vrabel currently hold the 29th overall selection. Over the next few weeks, your boy “Big Natural” Stoney Keeley will be taking a look at some of the prospects who are either rumored to be tied to or who make sense for the Titans. Today, we’re lookin’ at former Florida cornerback C.J. Henderson.
It seems like more and more mock drafters out there are starting to realize that the Titans could use more horses at cornerback. Specifically, they need a speed guy. The Kansas City Chiefs have deep team speed on offense, and they aren’t going away any time soon. They’re the gold standard in the AFC, and the Titans need guys who can run with that depth. They did a decent enough job against Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce in the AFC Championship, but it took guys on each player at all times. What happened? Sammy Watkins went off for 114 yards and a touchdown on seven catches. Damien Williams made a few plays in space. The Titans were susceptible to that depth because they had to double up Hill and Kelce. But, imagine if they had a guy on the field that could hang with Hill wherever he lines up. Adoreé Jackson on one side. Another speedy corner on the other.
If the Titans are going to get over that Kansas City-sized hump in the AFC, they gotta add some guys that can run with those weapons.
That’s why I say C.J. Henderson would absolutely be #TheGuy for the Titans should he fall to them at #29. Is there any way in hell that happens? Maybe, but no. If they really wanted him, they’d likely have to pull a few picks together to trade up and go get him. We all know J-Rob isn’t afraid to do that for the right guy, but is Henderson the right guy? This is a pretty good cornerback class, so if they lose out on him, they can probably get another quality corner later on.
Henderson has that All-SEC type of background from his time with the Florida Gators. In addition to that blazing speed that seems to be his calling card, he has the agility and footwork to go with it. That makes him an absolute nuisance for wide receivers, and enables him to stick to ’em like glue.
There are some concerns about mental lapses in zone coverage, and you can definitely throw him off by running some combos against him. But as far as man-to-man goes, Henderson is as good as they come in this class. And, that combination of man coverage and blazing speed is exactly what the Titans need at cornerback.
The ugly reality, though, is that the Titans have about a snowball’s chance in hell of him being there at #29. I hope I didn’t get everyone’s hopes up here today, but shit y’all – I gotta write about my draft crush.
Further Reading: One NFL GM bets that about 40% of NFL teams have Henderson ranked ahead of Jeff Okudah.
2020 TITANS FIRST ROUND OPTIONS
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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