(2023) KJ Henry-EDGE-Clemson

KJ Henry

EDGE

6’4, 255

Senior

Strengths	Weaknesses
Powerful Hands NFL-Ready Size and Length Intelligent Run Defender Takes Good Tackling Angles Secure Tackler	Can Be Slow Off the Line Plays Stiff, Lacks Bendiness Capped Athletically Can Struggle to Finish the Play

2022 Statistics (Per PFF)

*(Ranking is out of the 241 EDGE/LB with 200+ pass rush snaps this season)

2022 Statistic	Total	Ranking *	Rank Percentile
Pressures	53	T-10th	Top 4%
Sacks	5	T-102nd	Top 42%
Hurries	34	T-14th	Top 6%
Pass Rush Win Rate	15.9%	T-72nd	Top 30%
QB Hits	14	T-5th	Top 2%
Tackles	31	N/A	N/A
Missed Tackle %	6.5%	N/A	N/A

Write-Up:

KJ Henry is a senior edge rusher who played 5 collegiate seasons at Clemson. He was a former 5-star recruit who played as a rotational pass rusher for the Tigers, which limited his snap count to around 350 a season. Because of this, his production was not too impressive during this period of his career. However in 2022, Henry played over 650 snaps and saw a dramatic increase in production, at least in terms of his pressures.

Watching Henry’s film, it is evident the effort he put in to improve himself going into his final collegiate season. First off, Henry has ideal size and length to be used in a variety of ways in the NFL. At Clemson, he saw most of his snaps as a 5-tech or 7-tech edge rusher, but occasionally played as a 3-tech when the Tigers moved to a 3-man front. Henry’s most evident trait is his strong hands, which he has developed into using quite well, especially compared to some of the other less polished edge rushers in this class. Using his hands, Henry creates outside and interior pressure by knocking blockers off balance and out of position. This translates exceptionally well to his run defending ability. Henry is a very intelligent run defender, and excels at creating angles for himself to close off running lanes His length allows him to clog up gaps, even if he fails to shed his blocker. He is also one of the most polished tacklers in the class as well, mainly due to his ability to find great angles to the ball carrier. As a pass rusher, Henry displays high effort to get to the QB, even if he doesn’t finish the play.

There are still some flaws with KJ Henry that will hamper him at the next level. Overall, Henry is one of the more mediocre athletes of the edge class this year. Despite his intelligence in dissecting the play, Henry simply just gets outmatched at times by more athletic tackles. Specifically, his burst off the line and timing of the snap is wildly inconsistent. More often than not though, Henry tends to be late off the snap, which is a leading reason behind his lack of sack production. He also plays fairly stiff and can really struggle to bend the edge on the more fluid tackles he faces, which will become commonplace in the NFL. For these reasons, it is tough to project a high ceiling for Henry.

Overall, KJ Henry grades out to be a high floor, low ceiling edge defender who could find success as a run defender or rotational pass rusher. I love how intelligently he plays and his powerful hands give me reason to believe that he can find a role in the NFL, but his ceiling is seemingly capped by being a fairly unremarkable athlete.

Draft Projection:  3rd-4th Round