Keith Jeremiah Henry (born January 27, 1999) is an American professional football defensive end for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Clemson Tigers and was selected by the Washington Commanders in the fifth round of the 2023 NFL draft.
![]() Henry with the Washington Commanders in 2024 | |||||||
Cincinnati Bengals | |||||||
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Position: | Defensive end | ||||||
Personal information | |||||||
Born: | Athens, OH, U.S. | January 27, 1999||||||
Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||
Weight: | 255 lb (116 kg) | ||||||
Career information | |||||||
High school: | West Forsyth (Clemmons, North Carolina) | ||||||
College: | Clemson (2018–2022) | ||||||
NFL draft: | 2023 / Round: 5 / Pick: 137 | ||||||
Career history | |||||||
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Roster status: | Active | ||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||
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Career NFL statistics as of Week 18, 2023 | |||||||
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Player stats at PFR |
Early life
editHenry was born on January 27, 1999, in Athens, Ohio.[1] His father Keith was an assistant coach under Jim Grobe on the Ohio Bobcats football team.[1] Henry's family moved to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, in 2001.[1] He attended West Forsyth High School in Clemmons, North Carolina, where he had 24 tackles for loss, 12 sacks, and 14 passes deflected as a senior for their football team in 2017.[2][3][4] Rated a five-star recruit, he signed a National Letter of Intent to play college football for the Tigers at Clemson University.[5]
College career
editHenry played in four games for the Tigers as a freshman before redshirting.[6][7] He played in all 15 of the Tigers' games as a redshirt freshman, making 22 tackles with two sacks.[8] As a redshirt junior, Henry had 28 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, one forced fumble, and a fumble recovery.[9] He earned a degree in sports communication in December 2020 before receiving a Master's Degree in athletic leadership in December 2021.[10] Henry considered entering the 2022 NFL draft before opting to return to Clemson for a fifth season.[11]
College statistics
editSeason | Games | Tackles | Fumbles | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total | Solo | Ast | TFL | Sacks | FF | FR | ||
2018 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2019 | 11 | 23 | 6 | 17 | 4.5 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
2020 | 10 | 23 | 12 | 11 | 6 | 3.5 | 0 | 1 |
2021 | 11 | 21 | 14 | 7 | 6.5 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
2022 | 14 | 51 | 26 | 25 | 9 | 3.5 | 1 | 1 |
Career | 48 | 124 | 63 | 61 | 28 | 13 | 2 | 3 |
Professional career
editHeight | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
6 ft 4+1⁄4 in (1.94 m) |
251 lb (114 kg) |
33 in (0.84 m) |
10 in (0.25 m) |
4.63 s | 1.65 s | 2.66 s | 4.45 s | 7.47 s | 31.5 in (0.80 m) |
9 ft 4 in (2.84 m) | ||
[12] |
Washington Commanders
editHenry was selected by the Washington Commanders in the fifth round (137th overall) of the 2023 NFL draft.[13] He signed his four-year rookie contract on May 12, 2023.[14] On August 27, 2024, Henry was released as part of final roster cuts before the start of the 2024 season.[15]
Cincinnati Bengals
editHe was claimed off waivers by the Cincinnati Bengals August 28, 2024.[16]
References
edit- ^ a b c Brugler, Dane. "The Beast: 2023 NFL Draft Guide" (PDF). The Athletic. p. 175. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
- ^ Keepfer, Scott (August 28, 2019). "K.J. Henry: 3 things you may not know about the Clemson football DE". The Greenville News. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
- ^ Wooten, Eddie (July 29, 2022). "Clemson's K.J. Henry, a former West Forsyth star, owns his bachelor and master's degrees entering his final season. Here's his inspiration behind them". Winston-Salem Journal. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
- ^ Spivey, Jay (December 21, 2017). "West Forsyth's KJ Henry signs with Clemson". Winston-Salem Journal. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
- ^ Rapp, Timothy (December 20, 2017). "5-Star DE Prospect KJ Henry Commits to Clemson over Alabama, Georgia". Bleacher Report. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
- ^ Keepfer, Scott (October 22, 2018). "Clemson hopes to redshirt freshman defensive end K.J. Henry". The Greenville News. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
- ^ Dell, John (January 7, 2019). "K.J. Henry has learned plenty during his redshirt season at Clemson". Winston-Salem Journal. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
- ^ Lentz, Zach (May 20, 2020). "Prove It: K.J. Henry". SI.com. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
- ^ Gorchow, Joe (January 3, 2022). "Clemson DL KJ Henry to return to school for 2022 season". WISTV.com. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
- ^ "K.J. Henry – Clemson Tigers". ClemsonTigers.com. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
- ^ Keepfer, Scott (January 4, 2022). "Run it back: K.J. Henry to return for another season at Clemson". The Greenville News. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
- ^ "K. J. Henry Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
- ^ Selby, Zach (April 29, 2023). "Commanders draft K.J. Henry with No. 137 overall pick". Commanders.com. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
- ^ Selby, Zach (May 12, 2023). "Commanders sign KJ Henry, Chris Rodriguez Jr., Andre Jones Jr. to rookie deals". Commanders.com. Retrieved May 12, 2023.
- ^ Selby, Zach (August 27, 2024). "Commanders release 34 players; place 3 on IR, 1 on PUP list". Commmander.com. Retrieved August 27, 2024.
- ^ "Bengals Set Practice Squad for 2024 Season | Team Transactions". Bengals.com. Retrieved August 28, 2024.