NFL draft: Clemson defensive end KJ Henry selected in fifth round by Commanders |
Former Clemson defensive end
KJ Henry was selected 137th overall in the fifth round by the Washington Commanders on Saturday.
Henry notched a third-team All-American selection after a career year last season, starting all 14 games and collecting 59 tackles (9.0 for loss), 3.5 sacks, six pass breakups, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery to go along with a team-high 24 quarterback pressures in 659 defensive snaps. He registered 147 career tackles (28.0 for loss), 13.5 sacks, 11 pass breakups, four fumble recoveries and two forced fumbles in 1,771 snaps over 58 career games as a Tiger (24 starts) from 2018-22. Henry came in with draft projections as high as a third round selection. He was rated as a 5-star prospect out of West Forsyth High School (Clemmons, North Carolina). Henry is the lone Tiger on the Commanders roster currently. The Commanders traded up with the Buffalo Bills for the pick, dealing the 150th and 215th selections to Buffalo. He is a third Clemson D-lineman picked so far in the NFL draft and a fourth defender overall, joining Myles Murphy (No. 28 to Cincinnati; first round), Bryan Bresee (No. 29 to New Orleans; first round) and Trenton Simpson (No. 86 to Baltimore; third round). Projected rookie deal (Spotrac): $4.2 million total ($359,263 signing bonus). Clemson coaches on Henry: HEAD COACH DABO SWINNEY: “K.J. Henry is one of the best young men that’s come through our program — a captain, one of our best leaders. He’ll be a leader the day he gets there. He’ll be a guy that makes a difference in the community. He’ll be one of those guys that makes the coaches better. He just has every intangible that you could ever want in a young person. He’s got a master’s degree, he’s the son of a coach, he just gets football on a very high level. He’s very self aware, and he’s a guy that has truly committed himself to making himself the very best he can be every single year. Five years in this program and he has truly transformed himself as a player. He’s long, he’s athletic, he’s really strong. He’s got a lot of diversity to his game. He can play multiple positions. He really understands the game, and I’m just really proud of him. “He has high special teams value and is a guy that is a lot like [Clemson tight end and draft prospect] Davis Allen. I would put those two guys together in that their teams are getting truly complete players. They really are very, very complete and will make their teams they go to better the day they get there. There’s no doubt about it. I’m excited for K.J. because he’s worked his tail off to go from a young guy coming in here that wasn’t very strong to an absolute, no-doubt NFL Draft pick and a guy that I think will help his team and right out the gate.” DEFENSIVE ENDS COACH LEMANSKI HALL: “They are getting a guy who is athletic and who loves the game. He brings a lot of energy. He’s very smart, very tough and very charismatic. He’s a great guy who is going to do a great job there.” CLEMSON NOTES ON HENRY PICK – Henry became the 75th player in Dabo Swinney’s head coaching tenure to be drafted into the NFL, including the 12th fifth-round pick of Swinney’s tenure. – Henry became the eighth Clemson player ever selected by Washington, joining B Charlie Timmons (1942), B Buck George (1955), DB Frank Liberatore (1968), FS Leomont Evans (1996), WR Rod Gardner (2001), DT Jarvis Jenkins (2011), CB Bashaud Breeland (2014) and DE K.J. Henry (2023). – Henry became Clemson’s second all-time selection with the No. 137 overall pick, joining multi-time Pro Bowl DT Grady Jarrett, whom the Atlanta Falcons selected at that spot in 2015. – Henry was the sixth consecutive Clemson defensive player selected in an NFL Draft across the 2022-23 drafts. The six straight defensive picks came following all five of Clemson’s 2021 draft picks coming from the offensive side of the ball. Take command, K.J.! Go be great, K.J.! 🧡🏈 pic.twitter.com/rPk8XxmSNe K.J. Henry was co-recipient of the 2022 Tim Bourret Award for best representing himself, his team and Clemson with the media. Washington, meet K.J. 🐅@thekjhenry x @Commanders pic.twitter.com/iL1YXSulpw all of us rn pic.twitter.com/vA64GSLjPz Clemson’s defense has now produced the program's first four picks of a draft for the first time since 2019. It marks the first time in the Common Draft era that Clemson’s defensive front seven has been responsible for each of the program’s first four picks in a draft. Let's go @thekjhenry ‼️@pepsi | #HTTC pic.twitter.com/puLaK5VSBd “Send a playbook this way.”@thekjhenry is READY. @Commanders x #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/f8erPVng1J Take it from us, you’re going to LOVE this guy @Commanders fans 🐅#NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/j4xC5uvLhc K.J’s dad is a lifelong Washington fan.
Another day, another ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Clemson defensive lineman in the NFL Draft@thekjhenry x @Commanders pic.twitter.com/EuF77qAOnY
He's 250 pounds of pure charisma and will be an instant favorite for Commanders PR and some of my former cohorts in the Commanders' beat corps. pic.twitter.com/5yLNsjDTtE
you just KNOW he couldn’t wait to put his jersey on 😂 pic.twitter.com/RmA8q1RQPi
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