Lions HC Matt Patricia Offers Scouting Report of Jaguars Rookie CJ Henderson

When the 2020 NFL Draft came rolling around, two teams were labeled as likely to select a cornerback in the top-10: the Detroit Lions and the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Lions, picking first at third overall, selected Jeff Okudah out of Ohio State, making him the first defensive back drafted. Six picks later, the Jaguars drafted CJ Henderson out of Florida at ninth overall.

Now, the two top-10 picks are set to display their skill sets against each other's squad. The Jaguars (1-4) will host the Lions (1-3) at TIAA Bank Field, with a large amount of the focus being on how Okudah and Henderson can boost each team's struggling defense.

But how close was Henderson to wearing silver and blue instead of black, white and teal? Detroit Lions head coach Matt Patricia was asked this question Thursday, though he didn't disclose exactly how close Henderson was to Okudah or if the Lions considered the Florida cornerback.

"Two really great corners. That is all I am going to say about that, as far as, whatever, the draft," Patrica said in a media conference.

"We thought Jeff obviously was there and we liked him so we took him. But two really good players, absolutely, coming out of college."

But while Patricia was tight-lipped about how close Henderson was to Okudah on Detroit's draft board, he did provide good, detailed insight into what makes the rookie cornerback so gifted.

By the day of the 2020 NFL Draft's first round, most considered Okudah the clear-cut No. 1 cornerback. But rumors swirled for weeks that many inside the league considered Henderson to be either equal to or greater to Okudah. Patricia didn't disclose any comparisons between the two, but he did note why he liked Henderson as a prospect.

"I thought he was another outstanding corner. He's big, he's long, he's fast. You know in college, looking back at it, there were some great things at the line of scrimmage," Patricia said. "I thought in his last year in college he worked some of a little bit of off coverage, which was better. He can disrupt at the line of scrimmage."

Through five weeks, Henderson has started four games (sat out Week 5 due to shoulder injury) and recorded 15 tackle, four pass deflections and an interception. He was the deciding factor in the Jaguars' Week 1 upset of the Indianapolis Colts, intercepting Philip Rivers once and breaking up a pass on fourth down to end the game.

Pro Football Focus has Henderson ranked 44th out of 115 qualifying cornerbacks. By comparison, PFF has Okudah tied for 115th out of 115 qualifying cornerbacks. If you go simply by coverage grade, PFF has Okudah as the NFL's worst cornerback so far this season.

Through five weeks, Henderson has allowed 15 completions on 23 targets (65.2%) for 171 yards (7.4 yards per target) and two touchdowns. Quarterbacks currently have a 98.3 passer rating when targeting Henderson according to Pro Football Reference. He has fallen off a bit since his terrific performance in Week 1, but Patricia still sees a talented and dangerous cornerback.

"One of the things that he does outstanding is he is very violent through the pocket. When you watch him attack the pocket or attack a receiver, his ability to come through, because of his length, and disrupt the catch is really outstanding," Patricia said.

"We have seen that transfer into the NFL. You have seen him do it probably 3 or 4 times where just that violent attack on the receiver, it is pretty high level."