The Good and Bad of Rayshawn Jenkins

Jacksonville Jaguars strong safety Rayshawn Jenkins is good and bad. Let me explain.

The Bad

Jenkins isn’t an outstanding football player, at least by NFL standards. He ranked 26th among 43 safeties in Sports Info Solution’s Total Points metric and 53rd among 64 players in Pro Football Focus defense grade last year.

#2 isn’t the greatest deep coverage defender.

Jenkins showed great hustle against the Colts in Week 2, but that hustle was also used against him on the biggest play of the game by Indianapolis.

Jenkins was the first domino to fall in Jacksonville’s Trent Baalke-era free agency spree. The former Charger signed a four-year, $35 million contract in March 2021, making him one of the highest-paid players at his position at the time.

However, with no guaranteed salary remaining on his contract past 2022, and considering his middling play on the field, Jenkins is a potential cut candidate next offseason. It’d be tough to release a starter, but signing home-grown players like James Robinson and Josh Allen should take priority.

The Good

With added talent and new coaching, Jenkins has already matched his amount of passes defended and quarterback hits from a season ago. This interception on Jacksonville’s first defensive drive against the Colts was his first since 2020.

Jenkins got schemed up on the deep ball to Dulin, but he played with his hair on fire throughout the fourth quarter to secure Jacksonville’s shutout.

All the stuff I’ve written about so far has been things that I saw on one screen, then put on another, so you can see on your own screen.

Jenkins’ biggest benefit to the team isn’t shown by numbers or film, but by the embroidered “C” on his chest. He’s been a team captain each of the two years he’s donned teal despite playing for two different coaching staffs. In other words, he’s a great value to locker room.

Here you can see him run to get a turnover chain for second-year player and fellow starting safety Andre Cisco after his fourth-quarter interception.

As previously mentioned, Jenkins was the first free agent to receive a bag from Baalke. He was also the first of many players that were clearly targeted for what they bring to the team behind the scenes.

He earned lofty expectations with his pay day, but now that he and the rest of the roster have reinforcements from the 2021 offseason, Jenkins is shining within his role. The Baalke-Pederson partnership is off to a promising start.