Malcolm Jenkins is a terrific player and he should be a solid choice in the first round for most teams, but he didn’t help himself today with his performance at the NFL combine.
Ohio State cornerback Malcolm Jenkins may have cost himself a top 10 spot in the NFL draft with a disappointing 40-time and sub-par ball drills at Scouting Combine Tuesday.
He may have also revealed himself as a safety instead of the shutdown cornerback he wants to be.
Jenkins, mentioned as a possible selection of the Browns at No. 5, ran unofficial times of between 4.53 and 4.58 at Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Stadium. He also dropped some passes in the ball drills, prompting Deion Sanders of the NFL Network to proclaim that Jenkins and a couple of the other DBs were “killing themselves.”
Fellow NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock concluded that “the damage has been done” with the underwhelming 40.
“His value will be affected by his time, like it or not,” said Mayock. “But there’s a lot of good tape on him and a lot of Cover 2 teams are going to love him at corner.”
Or perhaps at another position.
“Some people think day one he’s a Pro Bowl free safety,” said Mayock. “He’s got the size and the strength and the physicality to play the position.”
Jenkins is not a burner, and that will affect him in the NFL. He has great instincts, so I can see why some teams would look at him as a safety, though Mayock’s point makes sense. He can do well at corner in a Cover 2 scheme.
I don’t think the Browns will burn their #5 pick with Jenkins. My guess is that they go with a linebacker.
