Matty's Big Board Prospect Countdown: #9!

Hey folks, the Super Bowl is behind us and it's time to focus on the next big event and that is the all powerful and mighty draft, which has the ability to take a team from the bottom of the barrel and turn them into a playoff caliber team (ex. Dolphins and Falcons). What I plan on doing is twice a week until draft weekend, I'll be counting down my top 25 prospects, discuss their strengths, weaknesses, overall impact in the NFL and potential landing spot. So, without further delay, I bring you the player who ranked number 9... that's right baby, we've cracked into the top 10!

9. Malcolm Jenkins, CB Ohio State Buckeyes

2008 Season Stats:
57 tackles, 3 INTs, 2 FFs, 9 Pass Def.

Career Stats:
196 tackles, 11 INTs, 3 FFs, 17 Pass Def.

Personal Stats:
6'1" 204 lbs. SR

Strengths:

Jenkins has great size and strength with very long arms. He is the prototypical size for a corner you want manning one side of your defense at the next level. He is very athletic and will make plays in the passing game and will also come up and hit in the run game. He has great hands and ball skills and will come down with jump balls or bat them away before they become a threat. He's very powerful and gives a very good punch at the line that jams WRs and knocks them off their intended routes, he has great football IQ and understands route progressions and will be in the right position more often then not to make big plays. Confident, durable and a leader on the field and off the field and adds some versatility as a CB/FS hybrid.

Weaknesses:

Jenkins biggest weakness is his lack of straight line speed. When he is beaten off the ball he is done, he doesn't have elite speed to recover on faster wide receivers. He has tighter hips then I would have liked and has trouble flipping them and running stride for stride. He's a tad over aggressive and his mistakes lead to big gains.

Overall:

Malcolm Jenkins is a hard prospect to decipher, he could be a CB in a Cover 2 or a FS in a man cover scheme. I think his skills at CB are too much to deny and too much is made of his lack of speed, with safety help over the top I feel he can be a solid press cover corner that teams like Green Bay or New England would appreciate. I don't think he'll be a FS but if he was he could very likely excel at that position much like Antrell Rolle considering his combination of strength and speed.



Projected NFL Destination:

With the 8th selection in the NFL Draft, the Houston Texans select...










There you have it folks, be sure to tune in later this week for Prospect #8!