Elgton Jenkins 2019 NFL Draft Profile

Elgton Jenkins 2019 NFL Draft Profile

A native Mississippian, Elgton Jenkins is one of the more underrated prospects of this year’s NFL Draft. While he enters the draft as a center, he also has collegiate experience at left tackle, right tackle and left guard, making him a good fit for a team who is still trying to figure out their offensive line. His proven versatility at Mississippi State is matched by his strong football I.Q., as he was considered the brain of his college offensive line.

Well-spoken and clearly well-educated in matters of football and otherwise, Jenkins is a solid block for any middle linebacker, though he is not known popularly as a very aggressive attacker. More of a stalemate blocker than a drive blocker, he rarely blows his assignments and shows consistency. Still, he has been seen to have stalling feet and has historically missed snap counts – symptoms which caused penalties against Alabama this year, giving away early engagement advantages and causing him to fall back. Despite having played all 13 games this past year, he failed to be recognized with a spot on the SEC All-Conference team.

Nevertheless, Jenkins has the power and length at center to handle basic blocking. And even if he is collapsed, he is not easily walked back, as he can widen his frame to help wall off and seal the A-gap on interior run plays, allowing the cannon behind him to release the ball in effective time. Jenkins has been compared to the likes of Jeff Faine and guard Larry Allen for his technical strengths and pass protection.

Strengths

experienced at all offensive line positions except for right guard

good snap

strong body control and awareness

efficient hands with vice-grip strength to pull defenders in close

good recovery talent

can recognize pressure and communicate with pivot ability

broad-backed and strong-legged, providing good play strength

Weaknesses

slow feet

film shows little to no lengthening ability

has a slight lean, which makes him susceptible to arm-overs

struggles with second-level adjustments

not aggressive/no mean streak to help with blocking

not a “finisher”

Projection: Third round

Bottom Line

Jenkins moves fluidly in space, and has strong full-body awareness. He has the ability to be an effective early starter, and easily has third-round value in the upcoming 2019 NFL Draft. Coming from such a vicious conference, he has the plug-and-play mentality that would serve any of the above NFL teams well. Provided he is ready and able to commit to the competitive nature of the big leagues, he could easily be seen listed as a first-stringer in his rookie year.