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Kris Jenkins Jr., IDL, Michigan (Senior)

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Rayane M

Back for the 2024 NFL Draft edition, The Trick Play team is once again offering to immerse you in the heart of the event through the scouting reports of Rayane and Valentin. Who will become the next gem of the pro world and who, on the contrary, risks a spectacular flop?
The 2024 NFL Draft starts right now on TTP!

 

Strengths :

  • Impressive Leverage sympathiques
  • NFL-level hand technique flashes
  • Good ability to defend the run
  • Strong against Doubles Team
  • Potential to be developed at various positions within the IDL depending on the system used

 

Weaknesses :

  • Lacks explosiveness in his Takeoff
  • Often static during play
  • Sometimes plays off-balance
  • Very limited Pass Rush move set
  • Extremely Raw
  • Pursuit
  • Bend average
  • Slow in transitioning techniques

TTProfil

 
Son of double All-Pro and quadruple Pro Bowler DT Kris Jenkins. Kris Jenkins Jr has greatly benefited from his father's experience to become the DT he is today, which is evident in his overall skill set.
 
Although he shows some really nice flashes where he plays very low, allowing him to take advantage of an effect of Leverage truly optimal, unfortunately it's too little to be considered as anything other than flashes.

The same goes for his ability to shed the arms of Offensive Linemen using good hand technique. While he possesses hands that can be both quick and explosive, it's again too sporadic to be considered a weapon, so once more, we're talking about mere flashes of talent. It's a good point but needs work to polish it at its best.

It's not without reason that I mentioned the role his father may have had in his development because if Kris Jenkins Sr. was never renowned for his incredible play as Pass rusher, he was feared by many Running Backs in the NFL for his ability to defend the run, and on this point, Kris Jr. clearly stands out.

Starting with his ability to consistently disengage from blockers he faces by using his arms well, which sometimes allows him to make tackles while still engaged in a block. Furthermore, Kris possesses a nice punch to help create good separation, and he doesn't hesitate to use it. Generally speaking, he is quite effective against the run, especially when it comes to Stuff his gap responsibility (the term referring to pushing a blocker into another gap while simultaneously plugging another).
 
Another area where Kris excels is his ability to absorb the Doubles team, and the term used here is not without reason, so I emphasize it. He absorbs very well the Double teams but doesn't beat the Double teams. Yes, sometimes we can see him use his speed and nice explosiveness to quickly position himself at the junction point of the Double team and thus nullify any possibility of a 2-vs-1 against him, but once the Double team already in place, however, he will have a really hard time beating him. Kris won't back down in the face of combos and won't lose much ground, if any, showing good lower body strength and a strong ability to stay low.
Jenkins absorbs very well the Double team without necessarily managing to beat them, which in this aspect of the game can sometimes resemble more of what a NT Tech-1 is capable of rather than a DT Tech-3. However, when you look at his size and athletic abilities, Kris seems more destined to play as a DT Tech-3 or DE in a 3-4 front.
 
 
 
So, while Kris Jenkins Jr. has a lot of qualities to offer to a defense in need of strength against the run, he remains an extremely raw player in certain aspects of his game.
 
One thing that bothers me is the lack of explosiveness he can have on his Takeoff, even though he sometimes seems capable of developing a real burst of explosiveness in certain situations. When I delve into the details of "why," I'm compelled to look more towards the Wolverines' coaching staff than the player himself. If Kris lacks explosiveness, it's particularly because he tends to rise up on his first step and then move forward on his second step rather than advancing directly on his first step.
He loses a lot of explosiveness and penetration because of this, and if you're avid followers of the podcast or the scouting section, you know that this isn't the first time I've had this criticism of Michigan's defensive line prospects. Just last year, I talked a lot about DT Mazi Smith, and although I never had the time to write the article about DE Mike Morris, I noted the same issue with him. The same observation applies to DT Kenneth Grant at the moment, who is likely to present himself next year and make a lot of noise if he continues to progress and flash as he has done so far.
When four players in two years have essentially the same technical issue and they come from the same program, playing in the same squad, it inevitably points to coaching. Moreover, to be completely transparent, while I do see this as a weakness, I can also understand that it may be intentional on the part of the coaching staff for multiple reasons (facilitating the reading of the defensive line, focusing on defending the run and maintaining gap integrity rather than putting a lot of pressure, or implementing a specific scheme).
 
While Kris is very good at defending the run, he still, in my opinion, remains too static during plays. He often stays planted in front of his blocker, trying to read what's happening, but unfortunately, during his reading, he doesn't create any penetration, thus greatly simplifying the task for his blocker by staying in front of him without necessarily seeking to penetrate.
If we add to that his reaction time to execute a technique after reading the play, which I personally find to be too slow, and the fact that he sometimes seems to lack power in the upper body, we might quickly conclude that Kris could have a real struggle to perform at the professional level.
 
He has a strong tendency to become off-balance when he shoots a gap. Since he spends much more time defending the run and maintaining his gap responsibility than actually being able to chase the opposing QB, in the rare situations of Pass rush where he has to attack his gap directly without worrying about reading anything, Kris throws himself into it wholeheartedly and can very easily lose the upper hand against powerful or, conversely, technical offensive linemen. Whether facing one type of offensive lineman or the other, it's not uncommon to see Jenkins' counterpart use this imbalance to take him far from the play, which is unfortunate.
To focus on his ability to rush the QB, which is, in my opinion, his most glaring weakness is his repertoire of moves in Pass rush is very limited. Kris doesn't utilize enough techniques when rushing the QB, and it's truly unfortunate because occasionally we can see him execute a move, break free from the block, and generate pressure as a result. Moreover, he hardly uses any Counter move when his initial option is blocked, which doesn't help in applying pressure against good offensive linemen. If Jenkins decided to use techniques more frequently, he could potentially develop a nice repertoire and become a completely different player.
Still on his ability to put pressure on the QB, his ability to Bend further than the average is leaving me doubtful for regular use on the edge. It's one of the toughest points to work on, if not impossible. You can improve his ability to bend but we never see an exceptional change because it demands qualities of agility, flexibility in different parts of the body, the ability to stay low while supporting significant weight on the joints, playing with gravity, or even the ability to re-explode at the end of a movement, which are almost innate factors. 
 
However, something that is not innate and that Kris could really improve if he wished, without needing to be coached or spend hours in the gym, is his ability to simply execute his pursuits, all of his pursuits, because at the moment he's simply not involved in pursuits. It doesn't seem to interest him much, and you know, that bothers me a lot.
 

In conclusion, Kris Jenkins Jr., the son of Kris Jenkins Sr., is a player who will need time to develop, regardless of his future position on the field, his future team, or the position at which he will be selected in the draft.
While he can occasionally display interesting athletic flashes, he is still far from the expected level for a player at his position in the NFL. Kris will be just 23 years old in his rookie season, and he has a lot of work to do on his ability to rush the QB to be a sufficient threat, all at a time when offenses have never been more focused on passing.
So, what to do, because currently, while he has the perfect size to be a DE in a 3-4 front, he lacks the technical abilities. While he has the athletic abilities of a 4-3 DT, he doesn't quite have the size or production. And finally, while he has the technical abilities and production of a 1-technique DT (or NT), he doesn't have the physique or power.
The future of his career will inevitably depend on how his future coaching staff utilizes him, but in any case, Kris Jenkins Jr. remains a player who is still very raw and will need at least 1 or 2 years of development before he can truly become dominant. As I write these lines, I personally have lowered my expectations for Kris, and although I wish him success, I find it hard to see him as more valuable than a 4th-round pick at the moment.

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