Dallas Cowboys should make C.J. Henderson a priority in 2020 NFL Draft

If the Dallas Cowboys don’t stay at 17, do they move up to grab a star cornerback?

The 2020 NFL Draft is always a mystery in what the process involves. What isn’t a mystery is what the Dallas Cowboys need as we enter the draft. The big glaring hole on their roster starts and ends with their defensive backs.

After losing former first-round cornerback Byron Jones to the Miami Dolphins, the Cowboys need to make a splash at the position in the 2020 NFL Draft.

This splash for the Cowboys comes by the name of C.J. Henderson. The Cowboys may have to jump a few defensive back needy teams such as the Atlanta Falcons, Las Vegas Raiders, Denver Broncos and San Francisco 49ers.

In order to jump all of those teams, the Cowboys would have to trade into the first 11 picks. In order to get to the 10th or 11th pick, the Cowboys would likely have to give up their 2020 second-round pick, as well as their 17th overall selection.

This move up shouldn’t come as a surprise to many who have followed this team for years as the Cowboys made a similar jump to select former first-round pick, Morris Claiborne, in the 2012 NFL Draft.

While Henderson is only a mere 21-years-old, he is mature beyond his age. He went to Florida where they pride their defensive backs to be able to play both man and zone coverage.

Henderson has the length that the Cowboys covet from their corners and does a great job reading and reacting to multiple different receiver combos. He excels in man coverage but also does a great job in zone coverage, keeping his eyes on the quarterback. Henderson also appears to be an extremely coachable player and has plenty of time to develop his game at the next level.

The parts of Henderson’s game that concerns me are his ability to come up and drive down ball carriers to make a tackle. On tape, he seems to misjudge and not wrap when he tackles.

As Henderson translates to the NFL, the strengths outweigh the weaknesses, making this an easy choice for the Cowboys to make.

As things stand now, the Dallas Cowboys only have one cornerback under contract after the 2020 season. If they can find a way to get Henderson in the mix, the Cowboys eliminate this massive need now and also snag one of the premier defensive players in the 2020 NFL Draft class.

I truly believe that if the Dallas Cowboys get aggressive and make a move up for Henderson, it will push them atop the NFC East in the 2020 NFL season.