Getty Former tight end Desmond Trufant #21 of the Atlanta Falcons.
The Falcons officially moved on from their starting cornerback Desmond Trufant last month. A team that was once in the need for a first-round edge rusher is now shopping for a cornerback, more than one.
The defensive line is nearly set now that they have a quality edge rusher under their belt with Dante Fowler. They also re-signed defensive end Steven Means, another guy they can count on defensively.
The Falcons currently have four guys at the cornerback position, Isiah Oliver, and Kendall Sheffield, Blidi Wreh-Wilson and Jordan Miller. Oliver, Sheffield and Miller are all under 23-years-old. They each have promising futures but haven’t been consistent and are still only backup quality. This leaves the Falcons needing to bring some newbies this offseason and a starter.
Falcons head coach Dan Quinn and general manager, Thomas Dimitroff have expressed hope in these guys.
“We have a couple young corners that we think are really starting to evolve we believe,” Dimitroff said. “We like their athleticism, their speed and their ball skills and such. They’ll continue to grow.”
‘Honing In’
Dimitroff spoke to the local media on Tuesday and said he wants to ‘hone in’ on the cornerback position.
“I’m a big believer, I’ve said this before, you really can never have enough corners and I think it’s really important for us to hone in on that,” Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff said on Tuesday. “Whether it’s the back end of free agency or whether it’s in the draft, we’ll continue to look in that area and make sure we have the right amount of people to fortify not only the front line but the depth as well. I understand the concerns of where the numbers are at this point.”
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Potential No. 16 Pick
The Falcons need a starting corner and their best bet at a first-round cornerback is C.J. Henderson from the University of Florida. Jeffery Okudah of Ohio State would be a nice catch, but he’s expected to go pretty early, before the 16th pick. That makes Henderson the next best thing.
Henderson stands at 6’1″, 205 pounds. Last season he recorded 33 tackles and 11 pass breakups which led him to receive first-team All-SEC honors.
The former Florida Gator proved himself NFL worthy as a junior, but really caught the attention of many scouts at the NFL Combine. He proved to be the most athletic athlete at his position. Henderson ran a 4.39 40-yard dash, had a 37.5-inch vert and he also put up 20 reps on the bench press.
Scouting expert, Jacob Infante of NFL Draft Wire gave his elevator pitch on Henderson:
“A fluid, lengthy and intelligent cornerback with Day 1 starting potential, Henderson should be high in demand when the draft rolls around. Given how he put to bed speed concerns (which probably shouldn’t have existed to begin with) with a 4.39 40-yard dash, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him drafted in the top half of the first round.”
If Henderson is available at No. 16 it’ll be hard to pass him up.