Kris Jenkins, IDL Michigan: 2024 NFL Draft Profile

Jenkins was a three-star recruit from Our Lady Good Counsel High School in Olney, Md. in the class of 2020

Michigan’s Kris Jenkins is one of the most athletic interior defensive linemen in the country. The physical wrecking ball still needs to develop a more in-depth pass rush plan, but his physical tools should attract attention early in the 2024 NFL Draft.

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Kris Jenkins, IDL Michigan: 2024 NFL Draft Profile

Classification: Senior defensive tackle from Olney, Md.

Background: Jenkins was a three-star recruit from Our Lady Good Counsel High School in Olney, Md. in the class of 2020. He was the No. 513 recruit according to 247Sports and No. 486 for On3.com. Jenkins was an unranked three-star recruit for Rivals and an unranked three-star recruit for ESPN with a 78 grade out of 100. As a senior co-captain, Jenkins helped Our Lady Good Counsel win the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC) Championship. That season, he produced 40 tackles, including 19 for loss, 15 sacks, five passes defensed, three forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery returned for a touchdown. Jenkins was the WCAC Co-Defensive Player of the Year in 2019. He earned First Team All-WCAC honors as a senior and Second Team All-WCAC honors as a junior. Jenkins was a First Team All-Met selection for the Washington Post in 2019. He was born on Oct. 10, 2001. His father, Kris Jenkins, was the 44th overall pick in the 2001 NFL Draft for the Carolina Panthers after a college career at Maryland. He played in the NFL for ten years, earning All-Pro honors three times and four Pro Bowl selections.

Injuries & Off-Field: N/A

Awards: 2022 Honorable Mention All-Big Ten

Pros: NFL pedigree, special teams experience on the kick return, kick coverage, and field goal block units, no penalties committed in 2021 and 2022, positional versatility, explodes off the line, uncoils through hips with low pad level, fluid and loose hips, loose and fluid athlete, superior agility and foot quickness allow him to out-athlete linemen, gets skinny to shoot gaps, rip move, swim move, club move, double-handed swipe, wrecking ball on stunts, balance against double teams and down blocks, stout base that makes him difficult to move, stacks and uses his upper body to shed blocks, quickly flows down the line to the football, bubbles the o-line into the backfield on off-tackle runs, motor runs hot in pursuit, impressive straight-line speed

Cons: Undersized for an interior lineman, true position is up in the air, limited pass rush arsenal, pass rush plan is developmental at best, power rush takes too long to reach quarterback, hand usage is developmental, spends too much time stuck on blocks in the pass game, relies on athletic traits over technical development, inconsistent anchoring at the point of attack, displaced vertically by double teams, leg drive doesn’t generate consistent vertical displacement, out-reached by Donovan Jackson (2022), overpowered by Ohio State’s big offensive line at times (2022)

Overview: Jenkins has special teams experience on the kick return, kick coverage, and field goal block units. He avoided committing penalties on defense and special teams in 2021 and 2022. Jenkins aligns in all positions from 2-tech to 5-tech for Michigan. He has the body type to carry some of that versatility to the NFL, but his lack of a true position could cause some teams to hesitate. Jenkins explodes off the line and uncoils through his hips with a low pad level. He’s a fluid and loose athlete who should test off the charts and impress teams with his movement skills. His superior agility and foot quickness help him press offensive linemen vertically and threaten their shoulders. He’s also able to redirect and dash around linemen on extended plays. Jenkins gets skinny to shoot gaps. The Maryland native has a limited pass rush arsenal that primarily relies on developmental club, rip, and swim moves along with a double-handed swipe. His lack of a true pass rush plan is one of his biggest flaws. Jenkins is undersized for an interior lineman, which leads to his power rushes failing to reach the quarterback in a timely manner. His hand usage is developmental and doesn’t help him shed or defeat blocks at a high level yet. Jenkins spends too much time stuck on blocks in the pass game and relies on his dominant athletic traits over his lack of technical development. The All-Big Ten honorable mention is a human wrecking ball on stunts. He displays ideal balance against double teams and down blocks and plays with a stout base to anchor. However, he is inconsistent at anchoring the point of attack and gives ground to double teams. Jenkins was out-reached by Ohio State’s Donovan Jackson in 2022 and struggled against the team’s ridiculous size along the line. Jenkins knows how to stack blocks and relies on his powerful upper body to shed or separate from linemen. He quickly flows down the line to the football and bubbles the offensive line into the backfield on outside runs. His motor in pursuit and straight-line speed are rare for a player with his build. Jenkins appeared on Bruce Feldman’s freaks list for 2023. According to Feldman, the defensive lineman hits 32 reps of 225 lbs. on the bench and does 760 lbs. on the combo twist. Jenkins can do a Turkish get-up with a 170 lb. dumbbell. His athletic testing numbers are fantastic for his size. He runs a 7.16 three-cone and 4.33 shuttle and jumps 9'8" in the broad and 34 inches in the vertical. For reference, the top defensive tackle times at the 2023 NFL Combine were 7.3 seconds in the three-cone and 4.51 seconds in the shuttle.  

Overall, Jenkins is an athletic wrecking ball who relentlessly pursues the ball, but he’s undersized and lacks a developed pass rush plan. NFL teams will fall in love with Jenkins’ physical potential and athletic profile. They will use him as a chess piece along the defensive line early in his career while refining his hand usage, developing his body type, and building an arsenal of pass rush moves.

Role & Scheme Fit: 3-4 defensive end (likely 3-tech)

Round Projection: Third Round

Size: 6'3", 305 lbs. (Unofficial)

Submitted: 09-05-23