Janoris Jenkins signs with the New York Giants
By jonfox
The Giants have been scrambling to fix their defensive backfield ever since they won their last super bowl. They’ve poured high draft picks and free agent money into this spot and seen inconsistent return. Jenkins is the latest large commitment of resources to this problem. He’s a good corner, but still hasn’t learned how to deal with a double move.
The Rams were in a quandary since both Jenkins and Trumaine Johnson were free agents in the same spring. So they tagged Johnson and hoped for the best. It’s hard to understand why they wanted to keep either so badly. Both were bad fits for Williams’ defense and neither one was showing much growth. This isn’t to say that Jenkins isn’t an effective player, he can be, but he needs the rest of the defense to disrupt the quarterback so that teams can’t use a double move against him.
As for the Giants, they’ll have to hope that Jenkins can grow with their coaching and his problems in St Louis were largely a product of the malaise that has settled in on that franchise. However, they’re investing a lot of money in an uncertain investment. If Jenkins just can’t adjust, then they’ve given a flawed player a contract which averages 12 million a year and almost 29 million in guaranteed money.
So how will this effect both teams’ draft plans:
For the Rams: They’re going to need insurance in case Joyner can’t step up to replace Jenkins. It probably moves cornerback up their priority list into the 3rd round and they have to find adequate replacements for Long and Fairley so that their pressure stays consistent.
For the Giants: They need a coverage free safety in place until Jenkins shows he can handle a double move. Landon Collins won’t be good enough for this role. Even with the signing of Jenkins, the Giants need another corner whether or not they keep Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie.