Janoris Jenkins
Janoris Jenkins, nicknamed "Jackrabbit", is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League. He played college football for the North Alabama Lions and Florida Gators and was selected by the St. Louis Rams in the second round of the 2012 NFL draft. Jenkins had his most success as a member of the New York Giants, who he played four seasons with and made a Pro Bowl, and also had stints with the New Orleans Saints, Tennessee Titans and San Francisco 49ers.
Early life
Jenkins attended Pahokee High School, and he played for the Pahokee Blue Devils football team and was teammates with Richard Ash and Merrill Noel. In his senior year, Pahokee went 14–0, beating Newberry 53–14 at the Florida Citrus Bowl for the 2008 FHSAA Class 2B State championship. Jenkins was recognized as a first-team Class 2B All-State selection and a Parade magazine All-American.Rated a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, Jenkins was listed as the sixth-best cornerback prospect in the nation.
College career
Jenkins accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida, where he played for coach Urban Meyer's Florida Gators football team from 2008 to 2010. He became just the second true freshman in school history to start at cornerback in the season opener. He was named to College Football News and Sporting News′ Freshman All-American teams. Despite his strong on-the-field performance for the Gators over three seasons, Jenkins was kicked off the team after he was charged with possession of marijuana in April 2011.Jenkins subsequently transferred and attended the University of North Alabama for his senior year, after signing an athletic grant-in-aid to play for the North Alabama Lions football team under head coach Terry Bowden.
College statistics
Professional career
Pre-draft
Prior to the combine, NFL analyst Mike Mayock ranked Jenkins as the second best cornerback prospect in the draft. He participated at the NFL Scouting Combine and completed the majority of combine drills, due to a shoulder injury that led him to skipping the bench press. On March 9, 2012, he participated at North Alabama's pro day and opted to only perform positional drills for team representatives and scouts. Following the pre-draft process, NFL analyst Mike Mayock ranked him as the third best cornerback in the draft. DraftScout.com ranked Jenkins as the fourth best cornerback prospect. His best attributes listed by scouts were his coverage skills, athleticism, explosiveness, and ability to read and react to plays. Scouts stated some concerns were due to past personal off-the-field issues, his smaller stature, and were concerned he could possibly not have the ability to adapt to the physicality of the pro game. NFL draft analysts projected him to be selected in the second round of the 2012 NFL Draft.St. Louis Rams
2012
The St. Louis Rams selected Jenkins in the second round of the 2012 NFL draft. He was the fourth cornerback selected and the first of two cornerbacks the Rams drafted in 2012, along with third-round pick Trumaine Johnson. He became only the 16th player to be selected in the NFL Draft from North Alabama since 1967 and the first since the 1999 fourth-round pick Bobby Collins and 1999 sixth-round pick Tyrone Bell. He is the second highest draft pick from North Alabama at 39th overall, only one selection behind 1986 second-round pick Lewis Billups. From 2000—2025, Jenkins still remains the only player drafted from North Alabama in going on 26 seasons.On July 24, 2012, the St. Louis Rams signed Jenkins to a four–year, $4.99 million rookie contract, that included $2.93 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $2.06 million.
The Rams were revamping their team following the hiring of Jeff Fisher as their head coach. The overhaul included the departures of Justin King, Josh Gordy, Al Harris, Roderick Hood, and Ron Bartell. Throughout training camp, Jenkins competed for a role as a starting cornerback against Trumaine Johnson, Cortland Finnegan, and Bradley Fletcher
. Head coach Jeff Fisher named Jenkins a starting cornerback for the start of the season and paired him with Cortland Finnegan.
On September 9, 2012, Jenkins made his professional regular season debut and earned his first career start in the Rams' season-opener at the Detroit Lions and recorded six combined tackles, made one pass deflection, and had an interception on the opening drive, picking off a pass by Matthew Stafford to tight end Tony Scheffler as they lost 27–23.
On November 25, 2012, Jenkins made two solo tackles, two pass deflections, and set a career-high with two interceptions returned for touchdowns during a 31–17 victory at the Arizona Cardinals. He made the first pick-six of his career, intercepting a pass thrown by Ryan Lindley to running back LaRod Stephens-Howling and returned it for a 36–yard touchdown at the start of the second quarter. He became the first Rams player to ever return two interceptions for touchdowns in a single regular-season game. On December 2, 2012, Jenkins recorded five combined tackles and recovered a fumble by Colin Kaepernick and returned it for a two–yard touchdown during a 13–16 comeback overtime victory against the San Francisco 49ers. In Week 15, he set a season-high with eight solo tackles during a 36–22 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. The following week, Jenkins made six solo tackles, one pass deflection, and set a career-high with his third touchdown of the season after intercepting a pass thrown by Josh Freeman to wide receiver Mike Williams during a 28–13 victory at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 16. He finished with a career-high 73 combined tackles, 14 pass deflections, four interceptions, and led the league while setting a career-high with four defensive touchdowns in 15 games and 14 starts. He was named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team. His three interceptions returned for touchdowns as a rookie tied the NFL record and tied Chicago Bears' cornerback Charles Tillman for the most in 2012.
2013
The St. Louis Rams hired Tim Walton as their new defensive coordinator, replacing Gregg Williams who was suspended for the entire 2012 NFL season due to the bountygate scandal and was subsequently released following his suspension. Head coach Jeff Fisher retained Jenkins and Cortland Finnegan as the starting cornerbacks to begin the season.On September 8, 2013, Jenkins started in the St. Louis Rams' home-opener against the Arizona Cardinals and recorded four solo tackles and set a season-high with three pass deflections during their 27–24 victory. On October 13, 2013, Jenkins made three combined tackles, one pass deflection, one interception, and made the first sack of his career on T. J. Yates for a one–yard loss during a 38–13 victory at the Houston Texans. He intercepted a pass thrown by T. J. Yates to tight end Garrett Graham to mark his only interception of the season. In Week 15, he set a season-high with six solo tackles during a 27–16 victory against the New Orleans Saints. He started in all 16 games throughout the 2013 with 61 combined tackles, 14 pass deflections, one sack, and one interception.
2014
The St. Louis Rams hired Gregg Williams to return as their defensive coordinator following the departure of Tim Walton. Entering training camp, Jenkins was slated as the No. 1 starting cornerback following the departure of Cortland Finnegan and was expected to start alongside Trumaine Johnson. Head coach Jeff Fisher named Jenkins the No. 1 starting cornerback to begin the season, alongside E. J. Gaines who was promoted to a starter after Trumaine Johnson suffered a knee injury.In Week 3, Jenkins made five solo tackles, one pass deflection, and had a pick-six after intercepting a pass thrown by Tony Romo to wide receiver Dez Bryant and returning it 25–yards for a touchdown during a 34–31 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. On October 19, 2014, he set a season-high with nine combined tackles and had a pass break-up during a 28–26 win against the Seattle Seahawks. He was inactive for two games due to a knee injury. On November 23, 2014, Jenkins recorded four combined tackles, made a pass deflection, forced a fumble, and returned an interception thrown by Philip Rivers to wide receiver Keenan Allen for a 99–yard touchdown during a 27–24 loss at the San Diego Chargers. He finished the season with 59 combined tackles, five pass deflections, a forced fumble, two interceptions, and two touchdowns in 14 games and 13 starts. He was selected to the 2015 Pro Bowl as an alternate, for the first Pro Bowl selection of his career.