There is no question that North Alabama cornerback Janoris Jenkins is one of the most naturally talented defensive backs in the 2012 NFL Draft class. There is also no question that Jenkins could be have the biggest character concerns among the incoming rookies.
Jenkins is one of the top, if not the best, man-to-man cornerback in this draft class. Unfortunately, the marijuana issues and multiple other character concerns could have Jenkins slide out of the first-round all together. One AFC college scout said, “I wouldn’t touch him in the first round.”
This came after the news that Jenkins continued smoking marijuana after being kicked off of the Florida Gators squad. The belief that Jenkins could fall to the second-round is becoming a more and more popular belief as the draft approaches.
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Of course, you all know the saying that “it only takes one team to fall in love with you.” It is possible that a team in the later half of round one will be so enamored with Jenkins’ talent that they are able to overlook his character concerns and take a big risk on the former Florida star.
Jenkins could be helped by the fact that the NFL is now a passing league and teams need all of the help they can get in their secondaries. That alone could push a team to pull the trigger on Jenkins.
There is only one way to find out whether the talk of Jenkins sliding out of the first-round altogether is legit or whether it is just a smokescreen being created by a team at the top of round two who hopes to see him fall into their laps and that is to tune into the NFL Draft, which kicks off Thursday, April 26th.
Until then, we will just have to wait and see. Where do you think Jenkins will land? Is he worth the first-round risk or should teams look at his character concerns and remove him from their draft board all together?
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