ATL Atlanta Falcons · DB· #26

C.J. Henderson

Age
28
Height
6'1"
Weight
205 lbs
College
Florida
Drafted
2020, No. 9 overall (JAX)
Experience
7th NFL season

56

Overall grade

20th of 96 cornerbacks

Well above typical

above average; 50 is average

Grades updated Rechecked every few hours on game days

The read

C.J.'s best number is missed tackles: 0%, 1st of 90 among cornerbacks.

Role is growing: When he plays he is on the field for about 9 of every 10 plays lately, up from about 5 of every 10 plays before.

Written from his numbers, not from film. 5 games are behind the season figures.

How he stacks up

Every graded stat at a glance, against all the cornerbacks in the league.

  • Missed tackles0%1st of 90
  • Yards allowed per target5.920th of 96
  • Passes defended per target17%28th of 96small sample
  • Passer rating allowed8438th of 96
  • Completion rate allowed57%40th of 96

Left is the worst at his job, right is the best, and the line down the middle is average. The bubble is his percentile: 90 means better than nine in ten qualifying cornerbacks. Faded bars are still small samples.

How he has progressed

Where he has ranked among cornerbacks after each week, and every game behind it.

WorstMiddleBestrecent12345Week 2: 83rd percentileWeek 3: 78th percentileWeek 4: 80th percentile80th

Season rank holding near the 80th percentile since Wk 2.

The line is his season-to-date rank among players at his position after each week, from 100 (the best) to 0 (the worst). It rises when he passes other players, not when he has one big game. Early weeks are noisier because fewer plays are behind them. The shaded weeks are the recent stretch.

Yards allowed per target game by game
WeekOpponentThat gametargetsSeason rank after
1vs PIT0.02–
2vs CAR6.0783rd pct
3vs GB5.71378th pct
4vs NO6.91380th pct

Lower is better for this stat. One game is a small sample: a single stat over 9 targets can swing on a handful of plays. Shaded rows are the recent stretch.

The numbers, in context

Each one against every cornerback with at least 10 targets. Right on the strip is better.

Yards allowed per target

Well above typical

5.9lower is better

20th of 96 cornerbacks · top 21%

The yards the receiver he is covering gets each time he is targeted. Fewer is better.

The box score: Interceptions are rare and say little about the hundred plays where he is just covering.

Does it show up in winning? Across 143 games league-wide, teams won 72% of the time when their cornerback was in the best third on yards allowed per target, and 55% when he was in the worst third.

Last 2 games: 6.3 (26) vs 4.7 before−6.1grade points downWithin the noise

Sample still growing · 35 targets · true level likely 3.2 to 8.5

Passer rating allowed

Above typical

84lower is better

38th of 96 cornerbacks · top 40%

The passer rating of quarterbacks throwing at him. 158.3 is perfect for the passer, so lower is better for the defender.

The box score: Not in the box score.

Does it show up in winning? Across 143 games league-wide, teams won 72% of the time when their cornerback was in the best third on passer rating allowed, and 53% when he was in the worst third.

Last 2 games: 76 (26) vs 107 before+11.8grade points upLeaning that way

Sample still growing · 35 targets · true level likely 69 to 100

Completion rate allowed

Typical

57%lower is better

40th of 96 cornerbacks · top 42%

The share of passes thrown at him that are completed. Fewer is better.

The box score: Not in the box score.

Does it show up in winning? Across 143 games league-wide, a good or bad game on completion rate allowed from a cornerback has not lined up much with his team winning (64% wins in the best third, 53% in the worst).

Last 2 games: 58% (26) vs 56% before−1.6grade points downWithin the noise

Sample still growing · 35 targets · true level likely 43% to 71%

Passes defended per target

Above typical

17%

28th of 96 cornerbacks · top 30%

How often a pass thrown at him ends with him breaking it up. A cornerback does this far more often than he intercepts.

The box score: Passes defended are counted, but never against how often he was tested.

Does it show up in winning? Across 143 games league-wide, a good or bad game on passes defended per target from a cornerback has not lined up much with his team winning (60% wins in the best third, 68% in the worst).

Last 2 games: 15% (26) vs 22% before−7.7grade points downWithin the noise

Small sample: could move a lot · 35 targets · true level likely 6% to 28%

Missed tackles

Elite

0%lower is better

1st of 90 cornerbacks · top 2%

The share of his tackle chances he missed. Fewer is better.

The box score: Tackle totals reward the player who gets the most chances, not the one who finishes them.

Does it show up in winning? Across 168 games league-wide, teams won 55% of the time when their cornerback was in the best third on missed tackles, and 43% when he was in the worst third.

Last 2 games: 0% (18) vs 0% beforeevenWithin the noise

Sample still growing · 23 tackle chances · true level likely -7% to 7%

How he plays

Tendencies: how his game differs from the cornerbacks around him. These are not better or worse, only different, and often say as much about the offense or defense he plays in as about him.

Depth of passes at him

Style

12.1 yds

Is tested deep, more than most cornerbacks. A typical one is 10.6 yds.

How far downfield the passes thrown at him travel on average. It shows whether he is tested deep or underneath, which is a role, not a grade.

Sample still growing · 35 targets

Playing time

He has played in 4 of his team's 4 games with snap counts, on the field for about 70% of the team's defensive plays when he plays.

Role is growing. When he plays he is on the field for about 9 of every 10 plays lately, up from about 5 of every 10 plays before.

Each column is a game: the share of his team's defensive snaps he played. 80% means about 8 of every 10 plays. “Out” means he did not play; a question mark means snap counts are not posted yet. Shaded games are the recent stretch.

Game by game

Every game this season: how it ended for his team, how much he played, his box score, and the advanced numbers from that one game. One game is a small sample, so read the right-hand columns as a snapshot, not his level.

C.J. Henderson game by game
GameResultSnapsTklSoloAstTFLSacksPressPBUIntMissedYds/targetRating againstComp % againstPBU/target
Wk 1 vs PITL 13–207%1100001000.0400%50%
Wk 2 vs CARL 3–3491%4401001006.012671%14%
Wk 3 vs GBW 35–1495%8800003005.76446%23%
Wk 4 vs NOW 45–2486%10910001006.98969%8%
Wk 5 vs BALL 23–30–211000000––––

The box score

The traditional totals, with where each ranks among cornerbacks. A total rewards volume, which is why the advanced numbers above matter.

C.J. Henderson box score totals
StatTotalRank
Tackles2511th of 96
Solo tackles233rd of 96
Assisted tackles275th of 96
Tackles for loss119th of 96
Sacks011th of 96
Pressures025th of 96
Passes defended67th of 96
Interceptions027th of 96
Missed tackles075th of 96

Players with a similar profile

The cornerbacks whose grades are closest to his across the same stats. Similar means similar numbers, not the same style of play.

Ranks are among players at the same job who have enough plays to be graded. Grades and rankings come from play-by-play, charting and snap-count data, so they cannot see blocking, route running or assignments. See how the grades work.

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Data: nflverse play-by-play, CC BY 4.0. Also FTN charting, Pro Football Reference advanced stats, snap counts and injury reports, all through nflverse. Calculations and charts by Raiders Rundown.