SANTA CLARA – The Niners first round pick A.J. Jenkins spoke to the Bay Area media in person for the first time this afternoon. He’s warm, talkative and humble.
Also, he has huge hands. After the interview I told Kevin Lynch that Jenkins’ hands looked like E.T.’s hands. In a second interview a few minutes later Jenkins told the media this: “They used to call me E.T back in high school. I got picked on a lot for my hands. But they came to good use.”
He seems like a really nice kid and I wish him all the best.
Here’s some technical stuff which might interest you.
The National Football Post ranked Jenkins the 167th best prospect in the draft and they gave him a 5.9 grade. Here’s how they define a 5.9: “Has a deficient area of his playing or physical skills that he SHOULD overcome and contribute as a backup and spot player only.”
His deficient areas are his strength and quickness according to NFP: “Hasn’t been asked to handle much press coverage and/or eve man coverage for that matter playing in the Illinois spread offense. Is going to need time to get used to seeing defenders up in his grill. Doesn’t seem overly physical or quick in order to handle press coverage.”
Only if he improves on those deficiencies can he become a good backup or spot player, according to NFP.
Let’s give Jenkins the benefit of the doubt. Let’s say he gets quicker and stronger this offseason in the Niners workout program. In that case, how will he contribute to the offense?
Last year, the Niners used their first round pick, Aldon Smith, as a spot player, too. He was the third-down pass rusher. The Niners could use A.J. Jenkins in a similar way.
He could be there third-down blitz buster. Here’s what I mean by that.
Defenses love to blitz Alex Smith and the Niners offense on third down. The Ravens and Cardinals beat the Niners that way last season.
To beat the blitz, Harbaugh puts a hot route into each play – usually a shallow cross. Chris Brown of Grantland explained this concept in this article, but I’ll explain it for you here.
On third down, if Moss lines in the slot next to the X and runs a seam he’ll get double covered. Then Vernon Davis, lined up at tight end, runs an out and gets double covered as well. Crabtree, the X, runs a deep in, and Jenkins, the Z, runs the hot route (the shallow cross). If the defense doesn’t blitz, Smith throws to Crabtree for a 12 yard gain. If the defense does blitz, Smith throws immediately to Jenkins underneath, and it’s his job to pick up the first down after the catch.
Jenkins ran this route more than any other route when he played at Illinois. He’s fast and he has big hands to snatch the ball out of the air as he sprints across the middle of the field. In the Big 10 he could routinely beat defenders to the edge, turn the corner and pick up first downs, but he didn’t break many tackles.
Is Jenkins a better third-down threat than Coby Fleener? No way. But Fleener wouldn’t run the hot route for the Niners – he’d run the seam. I guess the Niners already liked their players who can run the seam, and they felt they needed a guy who could run the hot route and be Alex Smith’s favorite check down target.
Jenkins fits Jim Harbaugh’s offensive philosophy and the Alex Smith’s style of play, but will he elevate the Niners from awful to adequate on third down? I don’t think so. Do you?
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yeah, we should have the same guy run the hot route every time. defenses would never pick up on that.
Redeemed yourself Grant. Good job… I believe Jenkins is going to be a work horse after listening to him and will do great things. Rice wasn’t a physical specimen but he worked harder then anyone else and has already reached out to Jenkins to go run the hill =)
Redeemed? I believe this dance step is called “The Backpeddle”.
Well, there’s your problem Grant. Don’t spend too much time listening to Lynch. His track record ain’t exactly the greatest, and the only people who bother reading his bilge are the choir.
He’s like the Ron Paul of 49ers coverage. Makes some good points now and then, his fans love him, but a lot of us don’t really have much use for him at all.
I just read everything Grant wrote above…… and I’m dumber (if possible) for the experience. That’s 3 minutes I’ll never get back, and I coulda microwaved a potpie.
Here’s what I think. He’s a rookie with some unique physical attributes. Throw all the numbers and stats out the window from college and see what Harbaugh and Roman can turn him into. He’s a lump of clay, mold him.
Grant needs to quit saying he’s a bust because Grant looks stupid over the great Fleener man crush incident. If Jenkins shines and Fleener is mediocre, nobody will forget it, and Grant’s career as someone who follows the 49ers will be in serious jeopardy….. which, btw, appears more and more like a good option anyway. Jesus, Grant… you losing people who are even on your side…. that’s tough to do.
Peace, dawg.
Where do you see Fleener going today, dawg?
Fleener is going to Indy to re-unite with Colts – Betcha a PBR!
WORD.
Told Ya So!!!
Grant can pretty much say (or write) whatever he wants. If you can’t take it, go microwave your potpie, build a bridge, and get over yourself.
Simple.
Sure, he can… but he shouldn’t if he wants to last. And get over myself? Sure….
Shouldn’t? Last?
Good grief.
This is real simple. If you don’t like what he writes, then go someplace else. There must be someone out there whose style you agree with that you don’t feel obligated to critique.
OK, enough of the Jerry Springer Show drama – back to football.
Adam – take your own advise. If you don’t like reading me…. it’s simple…. don’t.
You seem to have come down heavy on this selection. At 4.3 speed he can also stretch the field and catch the ball where Ginn has a problem. I don’t know of any back in the league that can cover 4.3 speed consistently. I put my faith in Trent and JH to make the right choice and that they had a very good reason for making it. Look at film of the Stanford games and see just JH used the fleet receivers he had there.
4.3 in shorts. One of the knocks on this guy that I heard or read was that he tends to be quite a bit slower in pads and isn’t much of a YAC threat. He can go deep but he’s not going to do much with it after that at the next level.
I think that’s why the NFL Net gave him a fifth-round grade.
So after crying about how the niners blew their pick because Jenkins wouldn’t help on 3rd down or in the red zone, he now writes about how Jenkins will help on 3rd down? I suppose consistency is not something you’re going to find when one throws temper tantrums and writes reactionary pieces when the 9ers don’t draft the guy you wanted.
…and by the way, if Fleener is so great… why wasn’t he drafted in the 1st round?
“…will help…”
Edit: “…might help…”
It’s simple. He’s young.
I wasn’t that big a fan of Fleener. Part of the reason Fleener stood out the way he did was because he had Luck throwing to him. Jenkins had a bad quarterback and had amazing numbers, and based on some of the footage I’ve seen, he has a skill at grabbing errant throws… this skill will serve him well on the niners where he will be catching passes from a quarterback who has accuracy issues on medium to deep passes.
Yep. The ability to catch less than perfect throws, and to get to balls away from his body, will help him with any QB, esp. Alex.
GC,
Nice read. Yes I think A.J. will be the WWelker type go to guy the 9ers have been missing the last several years. Another weapon that is needed for the offense to become near elite.
Now on to the draft where the 9ers draft a DL, RB, and Safety.
Who do you see tonight going in 2nd and 3rd? I’m thinking O-line or D-line tonight – not sure why.
They could sneak up and grab ASilotulu – Rams may be looking at him. I’m thinking DL or RB. RTurbin?
If Jenkins can be the Niners’ Welker, they’ve got something. I don’t think he’s quick like Welker, though.
If he were Wes Welker and he were drafted in the first round you and all the other know it all’s would be crucifying them ten times worse for drafting a guy who didn’t even project to be drafted…even the best prognosticators are wrong 75% of the time.
Like if you wanted to say Jenkins wouldn’t be better than say Hill or someone on third downs for the 49ers I could at least understand it as an opinion but to say that Jenkins wouldn’t be better than Fleener? Are you implying that you know better how Fleener would play in the 49ers scheme than Harbaugh? I also find it funny how you pick the ONE draft site that had him that low. CBS had him 58, Mayock had him 57, ESPN had him 62, etc.
NFL Net had him ranked a fifth-round talent.
Mayock is the top guy from the NFL network and had him at 57.
Its also hilarious the intern that wrote that called him a fifth rounder in that write up when they give him a grade of 78.7 which is a 2nd-3rd based on their own rankings.
Oh and St Louis apparently were going to take him at 33 and had him rated almost as high as Blackmon.
Blackmon shouldn’t be rated highly by anyone. He’ll be a possession receiver in the NFL.
Cris Carter was a possession receiver and he had a pretty good career.
He caught a lot of touchdowns, too.
Grant….I dont see this team being in a lot of 3rd and longs this season. I see them stretching the field and making defenses play off the line. I think this kid if used right can be another D Jax. If you noticed one thing we got better at. Its speed on the outside. Speed everywhere, Thats why I think our TE’S and Crabtree have verygood years. Now the 49ers can beat you deep or short something we havent had the weapons to do. Im telling you if Smith improves next season, likeI think he will. The redzone issues will be no longer.
I disagree on the D Jax comparison. He’s a pure vertical receiver – always has been. Same with Mike Wallace, Denarius Moore and Victor Cruz. Jenkins was a slot possession receiver in college who has potential to develop into a deep threat because he’s fast.
I agree Grant, he’s not a DJax type. He’s not as shifty. To me he’s more like the Isaac Bruce type of WR in that he’s more quick than fast and is smooth in his routes, he maintains his speed in and out of cuts to create separation. I’m not saying he’ll be as good as Bruce, but that’s more the style of WR I think he’ll be.
Good call. I see a lot of Isaac in him as well. I’m not saying that his career is going to equal that of Bruce’s, but from a skill standpoint I think there is merit to the comparison.
You’ll see Grant. This kid is going to be a very good deep threat like D Jax
I’m rooting for him.
Good post. I disagree a little on the comparison, as I see him as more of an Isaac Bruce (Skill wise, don’t freak out people), but great post, it really got me pumped up.
Watching the way he catches the ball, I doubt he will drop many once he gets his legs under him in the NFL. For all the measurables, that’s one thing that can never be overrated. First, catch the damned ball. And be looking for the ball. Yeah, YOU, Crabs.
With his speed, teams will have to account for him. If they cover him with their third CB or a safety, they will get burned. If they put a faster cover guy on him, that takes away from Vernon and Moss or whoever. He will be handy to have on the hot route over the middle – but he will also be able to take guys deep. With his hands and the way he adjusts to the ball in the air, he might give us a third deep option for defenses to worry about, right away.
Agree that he will have trouble making the active list for games. At first. Unfortunately, injuries are a fact of life in the NFL. His chance will come sooner than we probably would wish.
His strength is the major red flag / issue. He needs to get himself in the weight room ASAP, and work on it. Working on endurance with Rice, who has already reached out by Twitter, cannot hurt either.
There are no sure things at 30 IMHO, but I am quietly confident that he will be a good player and exceed some folk’s expectations.
I think the kid will develop chemistry with Kaep on the practice field and be a player in a few years. But looking for him to significantly contribute in the first year, behind Manningham, Crabtree, Moss and Ginn is asking too much. And I know Baalke just said 30 should contribute immediately, but not with this situation. Let him work with Kaep in 2012. I want to see Moss, Manningham, Vernon, Crabtree, Kendal, Frank and either JJ or Alex start developing chemistry right now.
When the Niners drafted JR, they had Dwight Clark. Who is better than MC. And they didn’t have the Niner back up QB throwing it to their new #1 pick. JM did.
Get real spit. AS is the starter. He needs this new kid. He will be passing him the ball. CK may not even be here.
Blah, blah, blah….
AS is the starter Spit
AS is the starter Spit
AS is the starter Spit
AS is the starter Spit
AS is the starter Spit
AS is the starter Spit
AS is the starter Spit
AS is the starter Spit
AS is the starter Spit
Deal with it.
“Only if he improves on those deficiencies can he become a good backup or spot player, according to NFP.”
Where in your link does it say that?
A word search for the word “back” only revealed two such finds:
“Works his back toward the quarterback, ”
Both say nothing about back-up and I take as a compliment.
Nothing at all about backup player.
The only time the word “spot” appears is in the following sentence:
“However, displays a real savvy about his game when asked to find soft spots in coverage.”
Are you just making stuff up now Grant?
And, They have twice as many positive focused sentence as negative focused sentences. That smells of more than a backup or spot player.
5.9 is backup/depth caliber according to NFP. Peruse it again. You’ll find it.
Where?
And if true, the Nines are stupid. You don’t select backups in round 1. And I know the Niners are not stupid.
If you went to 5 such sites, where do they rank/grade him to be? If there are outliers either way, you dismiss them and average out the rest. Then you have a much more reliable grade.
DS, Every draft board had Jenkins as a 2-3rd round pick. They blew it and drafted a backup.
Yes Jack.
I will take your word for it. Afterall, TB failed you. He didn’t pick your guy. And you can’t admit that your mock was wrong immediately.
And I have heard him to be in the top half of round 2. That is not a big deal. And if you trade down, you may not have him.
NFL has him as a 78.7 grade. It’s back-up territory but with an expectation of being an eventual starter. Their grade puts him in the 2nd to 3rd round.
Their overview though reads as follows: “He has fifth-round value at the next level.”
Good digging/detail, Grant, thanks!
Excellent post. Good info and analysis. (hey, I’ll give credit when it’s due).
It’s interesting, I’ve read some similar scouting reports about Jenkins. They mention a lack of home run speed and quickness (along with the lack of strength). Some of these reports were before his school’s pro day. I believe that later Jenkins posted a 40 in the low 4.4s or maybe even in the 4.3′s. And later scouting reports mention his quickness. Also somewhat contradictory are reports about how strong and aggressive Jenkins is with his hands in going for the catch. Other reports says he sometimes catches in the body and will have concentration lapses.
I didn’t see him catch the ball with his body, but I did see him fumble.
Here’s what Reuter said in the winners and losers (which he says the Niners were) article:
• San Francisco 49ers surprise everyone with WR A.J. Jenkins at No. 30: Jenkins is a very good receiver who might start at the next level. The question here is whether his value justified the selection. In one of the deeper receiver drafts in recent memory, finding a potentially dominant guard like Amini Silatolu to fill out San Francisco’s line or a pass rusher might have been more beneficial at that spot. Jenkins does have 4.4 speed, but his size is only average (6-1, 190). Rueben Randle and Stephen Hill likely received higher grades from most teams, and third-round prospects Marvin Jones, Nick Toon and DeVier Posey may wind up having similar careers to Jenkins.
Maybe Adam.
But we don’t care about careers. Only who is better for this team. If those other guys don’t fit what JH wants to do, then why get them? If this, then why not get him?
Rankings don’t take into account what teams want from players. In the ultimate team sport, I am amazed that such thinking is absent.
I don’t care about those other guys. The question is more about need. Reuter hits it on the head for me.
Like I said last night, I have no problem with this guy. I think he’s situational and more of a luxury than a need and probably not the best “luxury” they could have taken.
The needs *might* have been better met by the guard or the OLB/DE as opposed to taking a flyer on a luxury player.
Agree, Adam. I’m starting to get very nervous about our guard situation…
there goes fleener with luck should be awsome
They have too many holes on offense and defense.
Yep.
wasnt refering to the Colts as a team just the combination of Fleener and Luck
Luck struck the Colt’s twice so far. Luck to Fleener will be a good combination for years.
New live blog post is up BTW.
There was a guy on The Game today that covered his conference extensively. Said he was a great kid and played like cross between Chad Johnson and Brandon Lloyd. Runs great routes and can make the circus catch. Said he though the kid is the route runner in the draft.
…best route runner…
Ravens skipped Silatolu (or another OT) at #35. They have another crack at #60 unless the 49ers trade up.
Think John H. would ever tell his brother who he intended to draft at 59?
Gack! Panthers just got Silatolu.
Rams just got Janoris Jenkins. It will be Jenkins vs Jenkins twice a year.
Grant, when you first started blogging, I was a fan, because you were posting a lot of stories and doing a good job of reporting. But as time went on, you decided that you were a football analyst. Take my word for it: this is not your forte. At this point reading your columns is like listening to an average fan who thinks he knows more than he actually does. My suggestion is to keep your opinions to yourself until it’s been confirmed that you are truly better at analysis than most of us. I know that some of the other beat writers are not brilliant football analysts, either, but they’ve learned how far they can go – and some of them have even learned that their ability to predict what’s going to happen is limited.
Goodness, this is a blog, if you hate it so much then please don’t read. I’ll keep reading. I enjoyed Grant’s post and I learned something new about Jenkins. I haven’t seen this sort of analysis anywhere else on the web.
Jets just grabbed Stephen Hill. With a twinge of remorse, Fleener, Hill and Silatolu have been grabbed within the last 10 picks. I was holding out hope the 49ers could engineer a trade up to grab one of them.
On a brighter note, the fact that the Rams, rumored to covet him AJ Jenkins and even worked him out last week, now feel compelled to make a high risk/reward pick on a cover man Janoris Jenkins. The Rams actions speak well of AJ’s potential.
Center Konz just taken. That’s what I get for being greedy… wanting to snag first round talent at the 60th pick.
The fact that the 49ers are not trading up to get O-line or D-line help tells me they their confident in their big board and dark horse picks.
Grant:
Knbr had Lynch on earlier(i think it was Lynch) , and they were all agreeing that Walker is better than Fleener anyway.
Dont pout Grant.
Ha!
Grant, C Fleener has been reunited with Andrew Luck.
He wasen’t meant tobe in a niner uniform..
Nice going, Bruin!
This is good work. Redemption is kind.
It’s not about what the team would have gained in Fleener, it’s what they would lose. The 49ers already have a solid two-tight-end set in Davis and Walker. While Fleener may be a great receiver, scouting reports say he’s a very poor blocker. Walker is a great, invaluable blocker and a good receiver – so why replace Walker with a first round, one-trick pony when you can improve a deficiency in the wing – with potential as a kick returner? Now, that’s not to invalidate your valuation of an additional TE. I suspect the scouts see TE value in later rounds that can play 3rd string for a year.
After comparing Jenkin’s physical attributes to the other 5 top receiver 40 times, Jenkins has the best combination of attributes. At 6′, his hands are as big as another 6’4″ candidate. The more I look at him, he reminds me a little of DeSean Jackson. Purely subjective look.
Well Hof you got your running back surprise for sure La Michael James
Ravens grabbed Osemele. LaMichael James is a Niner. What’s going to happen to Hunter or Dixon?
I’m putting my money on a bye bye Mr. Dance Too Much Before Hitting The Line of Scrimmage Dixon. Or in other words… “Dixon’s The One” (If anyone remembers 60′s bumper stickers)
Don’t matter if you have a great weight to speed ratio if its always going sideways.
Dixon loves to tweet. I wonder what he’s saying right now?
How will he contribute to the offense? You’ve already told us Grant. He won’t. He’s a wasted pick destined to bust out… Oh no! No Fleener! We’re doooomed!
NFP had Fleener in the top 10, and DeCastro in the top 5. I like those guys, but come on…
So I’m confused. For some reason Grant, you think you know more about how much Fleener would improve the Niners than Harbaugh, who recruited him and coached him at Stanford? Just for 1 second, try to objectively think about this. Does it make any sense? If JH, thought for 1 minute that Fleener would help the Niners win more than Jenkins, he would have thrown the draft table through the window of the war room before he lost his man! I was hoping for Fleener as well, but I have sense enough to understand that I don’t know as much as the entire scouting staff, GM and coaching staff of the Niners. You CERTAINLY DO NOT know that any of these choices will be draft busts! The basic problem with the premise of this blog is that it is based on the opinion of an “amateur scouting site”. You do realize that these draft pundits are not the same as the actual scouting staff of NFL teams don’t you?
The NFP lists Jenkins at 167. Mayock lists him at 57. The only thing that tells me is that theres no true scientific rule for measuring talent.
I beleive the Org has set a pretty good standard for assessing talent when you look at last years draft. Aldon was not regarded as a top 10 talent but he certainly made a strong case for being the best defensive player drafted. He should have been Defensive Rookie of the Year.
Although drafted in the 3rd rd, there were some football talking-heads who viewed K.Hunter as being too small to handle NFL hitting.
Those same talking-heads would have laughed had they known that Harbaugh was going to convert B.Miller from LB to FB.
And Culliver may become a full time starter this year.
POINT: I think I’ll trust the standard our Org has set in assessing talent, period!
Damn Grant, hope you get a bullet proof vest for Christmas. I don’t understand the vitriol directed your way. Given their recent successes, I’ll give the niners the benefit of the doubt, but I don’t see anyone in this draft that will be on the team five years from now, except maybe special teams.