The Philadelphia Eagles are signing free agent defensive finish Ok.J. Henry to their apply squad, in accordance with a report from NFL insider Mike Garafolo.
Henry, who turns 26 in January, was initially chosen by the Washington Commanders with a fifth-round decide (No. 137) within the 2023 NFL Draft. He performed 282 defensive snaps in 10 video games (three begins) as a rookie, logging 19 complete tackles, 4 TFLs, two cross deflections, and 1.5 sacks.
There appeared to be some optimism about Henry’s outlook after the 2023 season. The next comes from a Hogs Haven article printed again in June:
KJ Henry was drafted by the Commanders out of Clemson within the fifth spherical of final yr’s draft. He was inactive for the primary 8 weeks of his rookie season, however following the trades of Montez Sweat and Chase Younger adopted by the damage to Efe Obada, Henry turned an more and more integral a part of Washington’s protection in its last 9 video games.
As you possibly can see, from Week 11 to Week 18, Henry began three video games and performed between 43% and 67% of the defensive snaps, ending the season having performed 41% of the defensive snaps for which he was lively and accessible.
Arguably, his greatest efficiency could have been in Week 11 towards the Giants when Efe Obada was injured on the opening drive. Henry completed that sport with 4 tackles, 2 passes defended and a couple of sacks in 37 defensive snaps. His different standout sport got here in Week 14 on the highway towards the Rams, when he had 4 solo tackles (5 complete tackles; 1 sort out for loss) in 42 snaps.
A 5-year faculty participant, Henry is a 25-year-old 2nd-year participant who seems to be on the rise as a rotational defensive finish. At 6’4” and 254 kilos, he’s a quick and explosive participant with a promising NFL future.
Stories point out Henry had an excellent coaching camp. He posted one sack and two TFLs within the Commanders’ preseason video games. Professional Soccer Focus credited Henry with 10 complete pressures on simply 51 cross rush snaps and graded him as their Thirteenth-best edge defender from the preseason.
Regardless of this relative success, the Commanders waived Henry previous to the 2024 season. He was doubtless the sufferer of a regime change with Adam Peters and Dan Quinn taking up in Washington.
Henry was claimed off waivers by the Cincinnati Bengals and was waived once more however re-joined Cincy on their apply squad. He appeared in simply two video games, logging 11 defensive snaps.
The Dallas Cowboys then signed Henry off the Bengals’ apply squad in early October. He performed 40 defensive snaps, logging one sack and one TFL. Dallas then waived him over this previous weekend. Kinda bizarre that Henry retains getting minimize regardless of exhibiting some indicators of promise. Looks like his run protection could be a difficulty.
Now in Philly, Henry figures to offer the Eagles with extra defensive finish depth within the wake of Brandon Graham’s season-ending damage. The Eagles must open a apply squad spot for Henry’s signing to be official. The crew can open up a roster spot by placing Graham on injured reserve after which selling a apply squad participant to the 53.
Highlights:
Scouting report by way of NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein:
Extremely athletic edge defender with good dimension. Henry has upfield burst, however he tends to be a face-up rusher and might want to enhance his hand utilization for more practical nook turns. He will be dynamic when twisting and blitzing as a moveable piece across the defensive entrance and he does a pleasant job of establishing a buttery easy inside rush that’s typically too fast for tackles. He can dart and disrupt as a one-gapper along with his hand within the floor however has extra hassle than anticipated in setting agency edges as a run defender. Henry’s strengths and weaknesses are well-defined, with the upside to develop into a starter.
Spider graph by way of Mockdraftable:
