June 20, 2017
During the dead period of the NFL calendar, as we did in 2015 and in 2016, we'll be comparing each of the Eagles' rookies to current or retired NFL players. We led it off on Sunday with the Eagles' first-round pick, Derek Barnett, and then we found a comp for second-round pick Sidney Jones on Monday. Today, we'll turn our attention to Rasul Douglas.
As noted previously, we'll also try not to recycle names that have been commonly comped to each player, like Brandon Graham or Terrell Suggs in the case of Barnett.
For Douglas' comp, we're going to go a little more obscure. The player Douglas very closely resembles in recent memory is former Browns, Cowboys, and Lions corner Anthony Henry.
Who?
Henry actually had a pretty decent career in the NFL from 2000 to 2009, playing in 132 games (96 starts), mostly as the No. 2 corner, picking off 33 passes during that time. Eagles fans may or may not remember him from his 57 games (51 starts) with the Cowboys from 2005 to 2008. In 2009, in Jim Schwartz's first year in Detroit, the Lions signed Henry in free agency, where he played one more year in the NFL.
Douglas and Henry have very similar measurables:
| Measurable | Rasul Douglas | Anthony Henry |
| Height | 6'2 | 6'1 |
| Weight | 209 | 208 |
| 40 yard dash | 4.59 | 4.60 |
| Vertical jump | 33 1/2 | 41 |
| Broad jump | 120 | 126 |
| 20 yard shuttle | 4.26 | 4.21 |
| Bench press | 16 reps | 15 reps |
As you can see, both Douglas and Henry are/were bigger corners with bad 40 times. Interestingly, the NFL valued them similarly, with Henry being chosen 97th overall in the 2000 NFL Draft when he came out, and Douglas being chosen 99th overall this year.
In his senior year in college, Douglas picked off eight passes, which tied for the NCAA lead. In his rookie season in Cleveland, Henry came out on fire, picking off a whopping 10 passes for the Browns. Both players have relied on their ball skills and instincts to make up for less than impressive long speed.
Because of that significant deficiency, Douglas will likely never be a lockdown, "do-everything well" No. 1 type of corner, but he can be a very good No. 2 who chips in the occasional big play, much like Henry did throughout his career.
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