The Jacksonville Jaguars might be surprisingly willing to trade a player in whom they invested a lot of draft capital a little more than a year ago.
According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, multiple teams believe the Jaguars are willing to trade cornerback C.J. Henderson, the ninth pick of the 2020 NFL Draft. Henderson and Jacksonville do not appear to have any issues with each other, but the Jaguars are content with their other cornerbacks and might be willing to move him.
A surprise: Multiple team execs believe #Jaguars corner C.J. Henderson — the ninth overall pick in 2020 — is available via trade. Jacksonville has given impression in some league circles that it's shopping Henderson, a high-pedigree player one year into rookie deal.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) August 8, 2021
A source says things are good with the team and Henderson, who just returned from the Covid-19/reserve list. So maybe they hold onto him. But the team likes its corners and Henderson would have interest.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) August 8, 2021
It’s not often that a team appears willing to trade a top-10 pick after just one year, especially when there don’t appear to be any issues at play. Henderson was unable to make a huge impact as a rookie after suffering an injury eight games into the season that required offseason surgery. Jacksonville also drafted cornerback Tyson Campbell with the 33rd pick and brought back both Sidney Jones and Tre Herndon from last year.
Regardless of how justified it is, it’s not a great look to shop a former high draft pick so quickly, even if it was a previous regime that made the selection. Maybe it fits with Urban Meyer’s win-now mentality, and the Jaguars might not be interested in waiting to develop Henderson.
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