ASHBURN — The Commanders were in a deal-making mood Saturday.
Washington traded up near the top of the fifth round in a deal with the Buffalo Bills and selected Clemson defensive end K.J. Henry. To get the deal done, Washington sent picks 150 and 215 (in the sixth round) in exchange for No. 137, which Washington used to grab Henry.
A 6-foot-4, 251-pound pass rusher, Henry holds good size for the position and recorded 13 1/2 sacks in five seasons at Clemson. Henry served as a captain with the Tigers and graduated with both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in four years. He famously used $100,000 in NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) money to cover the medical expenses for his dad’s kidney transplant. In a call with reporters, Henry said his father is a big Washington fan.
Henry is now set to become the Commanders’ only defensive end with a contract that goes past 2023. The team declined Chase Young’s fifth-year option Wednesday, causing the former Defensive Rookie of the Year to enter the final year of his rookie-scale deal. The following defensive ends are also set to be free agents after next season: Montez Sweat, James Smith-Williams, Casey Toohill, Efe Obada and William Bradley-King. Edge rusher Shaka Toney was also suspended indefinitely earlier this month for gambling on NFL games during the 2022 season.
“K.J. Henry is one of the best young men that’s come through our program — a captain, one of our best leaders,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said in a statement. “He’ll be a leader the day he gets there. He’ll be a guy that makes a difference in the community. … I’m excited for K.J. because he’’ 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 right out the gate.”
After the trade, the Commanders only have two more picks left (No. 193 in Round 6 and No. 223 in Round 7).
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