The San Francisco 49ers are looking to create depth at edge rusher after injuries ravaged the position last season.
“The 49ers are signing DE KJ Henry after a workout today,” NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo wrote on his official X account on Tuesday. “Henry, a fifth-round pick of the Commanders in 2023, was with the Steelers in the spring and now heads to camp in Santa Clara.”
Henry, 6-foot-4 and 255 pounds, was a 5th-round pick out of Clemson by the Washington Commanders in the 2023 NFL Draft and is on his 7th team in 4 seasons, including a Super Bowl win with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2024.
Henry Has CFP National Title & Super Bowl Title
Henry got his name on a pair of championship rings in both college and the NFL without having to do much on the field for either of them.
At Clemson, he only played in 4 games as a freshman in 2018 as the Tigers won the College Football Playoff National Championship.
Henry capped his college career by earning All-ACC honors at Clemson in 2022 with 59 tackles, 9 TFL, 3.5 sacks, 24 QB pressures, 6 pass deflections, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.
“Highly athletic edge defender with good size,” NFL draft analyst Lance Zierlein wrote in his pre-draft evaluation in 2023. “Henry has upfield burst, but he tends to be a face-up rusher and will need to improve his hand usage for more effective corner turns. He can be dynamic when twisting and blitzing as a moveable piece around the defensive front and he does a nice job of setting up a buttery smooth inside rush that is often too quick for tackles. He can dart and disrupt as a one-gapper with his hand in the ground but has more trouble than expected in setting firm edges as a run defender. Henry’s strengths and weaknesses are well-defined, with the upside to become a starter.”
Henry’s only career starts, so far, came during his rookie year with the Commanders when he played a career high 10 games with 3 starts. Through 3 seasons, Henry has 22 tackles, 2.5 sacks and 5 TFL.
Both 49ers Starters Coming Off ACL Injuries
Both of the projected starters at edge rusher for the 49ers are coming off ACL injuries — former NFL Defensive Player of the Year Nick Bosa and 2025 1st-round pick (No. 11 overall) Mykel Williams.
With Bosa, there’s little doubt that if he’s properly healed, he will get back to something close to his formerly dominant self.
With Williams, it’s a question of whether or not he’s even capable of being an elite edge rusher.
Pro Football Focus NFL reporter Bradley Locker put Williams at the top of his list of players under the most pressure to perform in Year 2.
“Williams was touted as a raw but high-upside prospect coming out of Georgia,” Locker wrote on July 7. “The 49ers took a shot on him with the 11th overall pick in 2025 but will need to see much more of the latter. Williams played only 385 snaps after suffering a torn ACL in Week 9, but the results were generally subpar. His 51.9 PFF pass-rush grade ranked 90th out of 95 qualified edge defenders, as he tallied just 19 pressures on an 8.8% pass-rush win rate. Despite his run-stopping prowess in college, Williams wasn’t dominant in that department either … after Bryce Huff’s retirement, the 49ers are counting on Williams to be a legitimate running mate for the returning Nick Bosa.”
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