The New York Giants made their first splash in free agency, signing cornerback Janoris Jenkins. Despite a lack of name recognition, Jenkins is a major upgrade.
Despite missing out on Mario Williams and Charles Johnson, the New York Giants are making moves in the early stages of free agency.
After bringing back defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul on a one-year deal, the Giants signed cornerback Janoris Jenkins, according to NFL Media Insider Rand Getlin.
I'm told CB Janoris Jenkins will sign with the #Giants when the market opens.
— Rand Getlin (@RandGetlin) March 9, 2016
Jenkins, 27, spent his entire career with the St. Louis Rams, who took him in the second round of the 2012 NFL Draft. Jenkins entered the league out of North Alabama after being kicked off the Florida Gators team.
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He entered the league and made an immediate impact on the Rams, starting 14 games and picking off four passes during his rookie year.
According to Getlin, the deal is a five-year deal, worth $62.5 million, and Jenkins, who NFL.com ranked as the 10th best unrestricted free agent, will receive $12.5 million per year. It’s certainly a steep price to pay for a No. 2 cornerback, but that’s what happens when a team tries to sign a free agent in an inflated market. The deal makes Jenkins the NFL’s second highest paid cornerback behind only Arizona’s Patrick Peterson.
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It’s a lot of money for sure (which goes to further solidify the notion that in free agency you pay A money for B players), but this isn’t exactly the same as the Eagles’ signing of Byron Maxwell last year. Like Jenkins, Maxwell was overpaid — $63 million — but he was also being brought in to be the No. 1, lockdown corner.
In Jenkins, the Giants know what they’re getting. They’re paying for a corner who has the potential to be one of the best corners in the NFC. However, Jenkins was arguably the top corner in free agency, with Sean Smith being the other popular CB.
It’s a bit of a risky move, as Jenkins has had disciplinary issues in the past. But the Giants seem confident they can get the most out of the young corner, and if they can, then this deal may end up being a steal. It’s also worth noting
Jenkins has all the talent and athletic ability in the world, and he’s entering the prime of his career. Jenkins, while he does give up a lot of touchdowns, plays with aggression and swagger. He’s good in coverage, though he gets in trouble trying to jump routes, a la Asante Samuel. Jenkins may not be the best run-stopping corner, but he doesn’t have a problem throwing a shoulder into a ball carrier.
He won’t single-handedly shut down a top receiver, but he should fare well in the NFC East.
While Jenkins may not have a lot of name recognition, this is a move general manager Jerry Reese deserves high praise for.
Reese typically has a knack for knowing when to let a player go, and the often-injured Amukamara’s time in New York had simply run its course. It’s no slight to him, but he never developed into the play-making corner the Giants thought they had when they drafted him in the first round of the 2011 Draft.
Compared to Amukamara, Jenkins has three-times the playmaking ability. He holds on to balls Amukamara would drop, and he has a penchant for making big plays.
Furthermore, Jenkins isn’t injured nearly as much as Amukamara is. In fact, Jenkins has only missed four games in his entire NFL career.
The team likely valued Jenkins’ ceiling more than Amukamara, and the fact that Jenkins can stay healthy probably played a role in the team neglecting to re-sign Amukamara, as well.
The Giants had the not-so glamorous honor of sporting the league’s worst passing defense last year, so it makes sense for the team to go out and find another aggressive, playmaking corner to play opposite of Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie.
Speaking of DRC, the Giants now have an incredibly potent, ball-hawking duo.
Giants pair up 2 CBs who love to make plays on the ball. Leads to big plays for both offense & defense. pic.twitter.com/odXlTgMn9C
— Ben Stockwell (@PFF_Ben) March 9, 2016
Having playmakers on defense is pivotal, as the Giants have lacked that luxury for quite some time, and I can’t even remember the last time the secondary featured two corners with an innate nose for the ball. However, as the above Tweet suggests, Jenkins and DRC get beat frequently. It’s a double-edged sword, but having two cornerbacks with a knack for finding the endzone is rare.
Janoris Jenkins has 6 defensive TDs (5 INT, 1 FR) since 2012, the most in the NFL during that span pic.twitter.com/rDScEDkfaW
— Randall Liu (@RLiuCBS) March 9, 2016
One would assume the Giants’ hope is to improve the pass rush to make the corners’ job easier. Remember, this is a team that won a Super Bowl with Corey Webster and Aaron Ross as the starters.
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The defense still has holes, and the team has work to do. But even with the signings of Jenkins and JPP, the Giants still have a lot of money to work with and a lot of moves to make.
Look, the hefty contract may seem ominous at the moment, but Reese seldom whiffs entirely with his free agent signings. Last year’s $17 million dollar man Dwayne Harris proved to pay dividends. The Giants obviously have a significant role they want Jenkins to fill, and it’s tough to argue against a team being seriously committed to rebuilding a broken defense and bringing in arguably the best available CB. It’s a big upgrade that will likely pay off big-time.