Florida football: CJ Henderson projected to Raiders is good for Las Vegas
We knew that one Florida football player would likely be chosen in the first round of this week’s NFL Draft. It appears that player’s stock has gone up a bit.
It’s pretty much a lock that at least one Florida football player was going to be taken in the first round of the NFL Draft.
That player was cornerback C.J. Henderson.
The latest mock NFL Draft produced by FanSided now has Henderson being taken as the No. 12 pick overall by the Las Vegas Raiders.
Earlier projections had him going as high as No. 13 to the Atlanta Falcons, but as low as No. 26 to the Miami Dolphins.
In 2019, Henderson racked up 33 tackles — 26 of those solo — and ended his career with Florida football with 93 total tackles — 66 solo — to go along with six interceptions.
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CJ Henderson Cornerback
Also in 2019, Henderson had 11 pass breakups, a sack and one quarterback hurry.
From the latest mock draft:
"Henderson is arguably the best corner in the draft, but due to the deep nature of this rookie class, he falls a bit. Las Vegas has to contend with Courtland Sutton, Keenan Allen, Tyreek Hill, Sammy Watkins, Mike Williams and Mecole Hardman in its division. The Raiders have to find a shutdown corner, and they may do so with Henderson here."
This would be a huge pick-up for head coach Jon Gruden and general manager Mike Mayock.
It’s true that Las Vegas could use a top-quality wide receiver, but there are a lot of those with tons of potential in the draft.
Many of those will be available in later rounds.
What the Raiders really need is someone to slow down big-time receivers in the AFC West. Currently, they don’t have a lot of options.
Henderson should be available at No. 12, and if he is, the Raiders would do well to scoop him up.
Raiders Could Get Jordan Love at No. 19
As a note, the mock draft has the Raiders picking up Utah State slinging quarterback Jordan Love with the No. 19 pick — a lot of potential here as well.
The Raiders need help here as well with Derek Carr as the only option they have under center presently.
Love brings a lot of upside, even if many in the league don’t think so. He has a killer arm and deadly accuracy. However, the biggest issue with Love is the fact he threw 17 interceptions along with his 20 touchdowns last season.
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As of now, Henderson is the only Florida football player to be selected in the first round. But, that’s to be expected as other players coming out for the draft are in positions where there are a ton.