With the 2012 NFL season ending last Sunday with Eli Manning and the New York Giants defeating the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI, it’s about time for sports America to look forward to the 2012 NFL Draft. In the next couple months I will profile a few players the Cowboys should take a look at in the first round to better the team next year.
The Cowboys have many holes going into the 2012 season but the one I think they need to address the most is the defensive secondary. I wanted to sports-puke in week 17 while watching Terrence Newman let the Giants receiving core run him ragged. Newman will be gone in 2012, I can almost sports promise you that. Mike Jenkins showed some flair in the past but hasn’t lived up to his 2009 Pro Bowl season, Orlando Scandrick was handed a five year $27 million extension this season. That must be hush money for his Sam Hurd knowledge because he is definitely not worth it. The Cowboys need to find a young corner that can play and be effective immediately, and Janoris Jenkins can be that guy.
Janoris Jenkins is a senior cornerback out of the University of Northern Alabama. Yes, THE University of Northern Alabama. It’s been a long and tough road for Jenkins as he played his first three seasons at the University of Florida but was dismissed from the team before his senior year in 2011 and joined the UNA Lions.
In Jenkins’ freshman season at Florida in 2007, he became only the second freshman in school history to start opening day at corner. In 2010, Jenkins’ final season at Florida, he matched up against the top two receivers taken in the 2011 draft, Julio Jones and A.J. Green. He limited them to a combined eight catches for 61 yards.
Jenkins is one of the most athletic and explosive players in this year’s draft class. He absolutely has high first round potential; the only thing weighing him down is his previous bad decisions. Jenkins was arrested a total of three times during his career at Florida, the first coming in June of 2009 after punching a man in the head outside a bar in Gainesville and resisting arrest. In January of 2011, Janoris was arrested for possession of marijuana. However, he did not learn his lesson and the final straw was in April of the same year when Janoris was caught smoking the green stuff again. Three days later, Jenkins was off the team.
Instead of going into the NFL’s supplemental draft or going to another division 1 school and sitting out a year, Jenkins decided to go to the division 2 school where he could play right away. Not much was different for Janoris at the division 2 level. He dominated division 2 football just like he dominated the SEC.
On most early draft boards, Jenkins is the third highest ranked cornerback in the draft only behind former SEC rivals Morris Claiborne of LSU and Dre Kirkpatrick of Alabama. If Jenkins could’ve stayed at Florida for his final collegiate season, he might be ahead of both of them.
Jenkins can also return punts; this is another area where the Cowboys have struggled in the past. In his senior season at UNA he returned 18 punts for a 21.7 yard average including three touchdowns and a season-long return of 92 yards. He only had two interceptions in his senior year but that’s mainly because division two quarterbacks were too scared to throw to his side. He did however show that he plays physical; recording 53 tackles including four tackles for loss.
This is a player that I can see Jerry Jones falling in love with. If it wasn’t for Jenkins’ off the field issues, he would easily be a top ten pick and Jerry will see him at 14 as a steal. Jerry has been known to take risks on players in the past: Dez Bryant, Pacman Jones (fail), Tank Johnson (fail), and Deion Sanders. Taking Jenkins will be the highest risk in the first round because of his previous troubles, but if he has kicked his old habit, he could be the shutdown corner the Cowboys are looking for.
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Janoris Jenkins’ Career Defensive Stats |
||||||||||||
| Year | Team |
G |
Tack |
Ast |
Sacks |
Yds |
Int |
Yds |
Lg |
PD |
FF |
FR |
| 2008 | Fla |
14 |
27 |
12 |
1 |
12 |
3 |
19 |
16 |
11 |
1 |
0 |
| 2009 | Fla |
13 |
33 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
4 |
4 |
6 |
1 |
0 |
| 2010 | Fla |
13 |
32 |
12 |
1 |
6 |
3 |
68 |
67t |
8 |
0 |
0 |
| 2011 | UNA |
12 |
36 |
17 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
12 |
10 |
4 |
0 |
2 |
| Totals |
G |
Tack |
Ast |
Sacks |
Yds |
Int |
Yds |
Lg |
PD |
FF |
FR |
|
| Career |
52 |
128 |
46 |
2 |
18 |
10 |
103 |
67t |
29 |
2 |
2 |
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Janoris Jenkins’ junior year at Florida
Janoris dominating division 2 in 2011
Cinco De Mino.com 