http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/nfl/miami-dolphins/article9761831.html Smart kid, well rounded, I like that he's studying what he is, biomechanics and nutrition, should make him a better player down the road, some folks don't know this but this dude is naturally very strong. (27 reps) and is still, get this, only 22 years old... in his first year I watched him stay conscious of his responsibilities, it was really obvious he wanted to be disciplined, and he was rarely out of position in his first year, 2nd year you could see how that discipline paid off where he now knows where to be and can use his excellent athleticism and explosiveness to arrive earlier to the ball, I thought the jump in level of play was predictable because of how he went about his business in his first year.. This is a player that may reach his potential y'all, and if he does, were talking probowl linebacker..
Dude became my favorite player last season. He is sharp as a tack and just makes plays. He's the kind of player that will be a leader someday soon.
I like Jenkins a lot. I would love to add Eric Kendricks, who is one of my favorite players in this draft (I like Perryman too, but a little less), to play the middle and have DJordan and McCain fight it out on the other side. That would give us a very athletic linebacking corps that can run, cover, blitz and defend the run.
this hype was coming while he was 16 years old... 16!!!he entered college at 17, thats why he's still only 22..
the dude doesn't even have his man body yet.. 6'1..245..4.5 speed..xplosive..smart..disciplined..good character.....22 years old..
I love me some 5 star recruits who are smart enough to unleash their athleticism at the pro level..this dude was a 1500 yard running back in high school, and became the #2 linebacker in the country at the same time.. was so calculated his rookie year, in the last half i was always talking about how he was just always in the right place, he wasn't making splash plays, but you could tell he was just concerned with doing his job, then last year he started to know where he's supposed to be and started to unleash that speed and power..
I think the biggest thing with Jelani Jenkins is they need to make sure he's protected by the defensive line. He's not the same guy when he's getting blocked, and that's OK, but when it broke down last year it was a big issue. With Kevin Coyle, that probably means getting a space-eater.
Jelani Jenkins does not run a 4.4. He runs a 4.65. But he was a good player during the first half of the year. Have to make sure he is able to continue to play that way. I'm not positive it's about keeping blockers off him. I think it could very well have to do with how Miami uses its safeties.
I'm looking forward to seeing him get stronger and smarter as a player. He still has several very good years left and I think he can become a top level LB.
its a question I've been thinking about all offseason because I just want to be able to get our best players on the field, so when thinking about what position he's best suited as I must think about what position the other guy is best suited for and thats dion jordan, I think dion would be best served as the mike checking that tight end and flat and just let Jelani play the will..I don't want him playing the mike cause I don't want that pretty athleticism go to waste, get someone in there that can knock heads for that, but let this kid run around and make plays and I think at ''will'' it gives him the best chance to do that.. I also think we might be best served playing more 34 if Mccain is the real deal.
Agreed. I think he's best suited weak side but so are Ellerbe, Wheeler, Jordan. Who plays Sam and Mike? Hickey needs to be on his job big time to fix the LB unit.
wheeler and ellerbe aren't beating jenkins out, and both may not be on the team, wheeler maybe, dion can play the sam, just get his weight down and let him read that tight end..I guess its Misi back in the middle.
its get him more in coverage and covering space which is what he's made for, move him around as a spy on 3rd down and were rollin... if we drafted your boy Kendricks we could plug him in.
I want Jordan head up in press coverage over the TE, no matter where he lines up. Especially the big mismatches like Gronk et al.
sure, if he stays inline to block than let him play the run..perfect sam. one time in college I saw him line up as the sam, he was about 5 yards off the los, the tight end came at him to block on a li flat route to the back, he threw the tight off him like a knat and jump cutted to the flat and made an open field tackle behind the los, it was unbelievable, he covered and I wrote this 5 yards in one explosive movement...but that was at 245.
I'm not so sure. He's a guy I'd like to see in space, ideally as a 3-4 WOLB. If he's at Sam, Wake will be in his rush lane a lot and he'll have to hold up vs TE's, FB's and pulling guards, which isn't really his game. On the weak side he'd have more opps to use his athleticism to chase plays down, Rush, cover hook/flat/curl, freelance and make plays.
Thats good vs NE but we only face them twice. There aren't many other TEs who require that type of attention, and we have Jones, who can cover just about any TE. It really is a head ache trying to find a way to fit the guys we have as individuals into a unit.
but your talking about the 248 lb dion Jordan that would be best suited for that..jenkins has speed and plays angles and chases well, you can't count on this staff being smart enough to getting him down to 250-255.. i think you have to think 265....I do know he's working out this offseason with Wake and Vern so I'm hoping wake really cuts into his diet and get him as low as possible.. but jenkins can do all that stuff as well at will.
Jimmy Graham, Antonio Gates, Julius Thomas, Martellus Bennett etc...there are plenty of big TEs around the league that Jordan could shut down better than anyone else we have.
That's a good point about the staff. Dunno how they feel but it seems the bulk up to 270 plan was a miserable failure, plus we have two good DEs in Wake and Vernon. Let DJ use his natural size, 245-255, and ability, to do what he does best. Above all we need a MLB, Misi won't cut it imo.
Might have to get Con or Boomer in here for that bc I don't know. What I do know is that we need a talented and instinctive guy to plug in at Mike or else we'll struggle no matter who's playing outside.
I'll defer to you on that one but my point is I don't think he's suited for playing the closed end position that the staff seemed to have been trying him at. Imo the drug suspension had to a lot to done him trying to bulk up to play that role = fail.
